A Force I Can't Contain
by slouchbeanie75
Summary: Hailey knows that she's lucky: not only to be so well looked after by Shaw, but to be able to explore the full range of her abilities. But something feels off - is Shaw really her saviour, or has she been misled? OC x Shaw, OC x Havok. Reviews are welcome :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey hey! This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a story I've had rolling around in my brain for a while. Hope you enjoy :)**

 **Chapter One**

The house, having been tidied for Tom Evans' important New Year's Eve party, seemed to shine out through the darkness as the sun began to dip behind the trees. Many expensive-looking men and women were arriving, driving their expensive-looking cars down the long driveway – Mr Evans had peculiarly good contacts in the business world.

As suits and flowing dresses began to pour inside, Gabrielle, the eldest sibling and nearing her twenty-fifth birthday, was clacking around the second level in her heels, telling her sister Violet (barely two years her junior) off for her floral blouse, complaining it was 'too casual'.

Lavender, who was quickly tidying any last minute specks or spots (or rather, supervising the tidying), smiled to herself as she heard them bickering, knowing they would rather suck raw eggs than start a real fight with each other. Underneath the banter, she could hear her other daughter – the smile drooped a little – playing piano with her teacher. No doubt whatever she wore would be deemed "too casual".

Hailey, her youngest, was eighteen and seemed to steer away from what Lavender considered an ideal family image. _What can you do?_ Lavender sighed inwardly, clicking her tongue and continuing with her work. On the lower level of the house, the rooms were wide and white, with towering ceilings and generally an expensive vase or two planted somewhere 'safely out of harm's way'. Or Hailey's way really; in Lavender's eyes they were one and the same thing. That girl had been breaking expensive things since she was a toddler.

In very little time, the guests were either seated in the parlour or smoking cigars and chatting out on the patio. Hundred dollar bottles of wine were opened, champagne was uncorked; the general tinkle of glass occurred throughout the night. Gabrielle and Violet mingled with the company, gladly accepting the remarks of how beautiful they had grown to be, while said givers of those remarks quietly mused over how – although Lavender's daughters had inherited their mother's beauty – none of them bore much resemblance to their so-called father. Sure, Gabrielle's hair had her mother's silvery blonde gleam, and Violet's eyes were the exact same shape and shade as Lavender's own, but if Gabrielle's hazel eyes and Violet's olive skin had alerted Tom Evans to any kind of infidelity, he had not expressed his concerns – at least, not publicly.

As the guests were served drinks again and again, Lavender noticed that her youngest had not yet made an appearance (not that many people were troubled by this). Squeezing into the kitchen, she checked the clock hands – her tutor should have left an hour ago. And yet no sign of Hailey appeared.

Lavender pursed her lips, glaring at the clock, straining to listen under the noisy crowd. Could she hear the piano or was she simply imagining it?

In the end, Mrs Evans decided that if Hailey had not come back by dinner _then_ she would go and find her. But for now, why ruin a perfectly good time by worrying about all the delicate objects her interior designer had recently incorporated into their décor?

* * *

Miss Eldstein had left nearly an hour ago, leaving behind nothing but the slight smell of peanuts and rose water. Hailey had always remained curious as to how Miss Eldstein had cultivated this unique aroma. Perhaps if she had spent less time wondering this, she might have been able to learn the piano a little better.

Lavender had been right about some things: Hailey hadn't bothered to change. _There's no real reason to,_ she thought, tugging at the shorts that her mother had informed her were "too short" ( _the literal point of shorts,_ Hailey had thought but smartly refrained from saying). Stretching her arms out high above her head, she fell onto the couch, wriggling her bare feet on the carpet and staring at the domed ceiling above her.

Parties, she understood, were supposed to be social and creative. Mother _always_ said so. Hailey saw the social side of inviting about two million people over to the house but found the creativity lacking. Everyone just stood there and talked about money, or how beautiful her sisters were, or how they'd really liked that antique vase that had been sitting on the mantelpiece during their last visit, what had become of it? And then her mother's damning eyes would slide over to her, and Hailey would shuffle out of the room before anyone could notice the frozen smile plastered on her mother's face, fighting for dominance over the glare that could cut through glass.

Well, the parties she knew were like that.

Without really thinking about it, she glanced at the pencil on the table. Maybe… just maybe she could make it float.

The thought of her mother walking into the room and seeing her youngest daughter levitating a pencil made Hailey go cold. She could picture the blood draining from her mother's cheeks, that frozen smile pulled so wide that it rolled into a grimace –

The pencil shivered.

"Crap," Hailey murmured, and the pencil rolled a few inches along the table. Hailey shook her head sharply. "No, stop it." The pencil froze.

She was lucky no one had seen yet. They would have had her committed.

Hailey looked at the piano. Smiling almost immediately, she opened it and sat quickly on the creaky stool, playing 'You Are My Sunshine'. Though Hailey was not terribly into jazz, it was the song she'd enjoyed learning the most from Miss Eldstein.

Soon enough, someone would come in and tell her off for being here at such a splendid party, or that her clothes were too casual, or that her bangs were in her eyes. She was always doing something wrong, she thought bitterly.

She finished the simple song and nearly fell off the seat when she heard someone applaud.

Hailey squeaked a little and whipped around to face the doorway: a tall, lanky man wearing a dark suit was leaning against the frame, smiling. She was surprised she hadn't fallen off the seat yet and felt the colour rising to her cheeks.

The man gave her a knowing look as a grin rushed across his features.

"Did I scare you?"

Hailey couldn't hold back a smile; his grin was infectious. She shook her head, unsure of what he was doing here. "No," she said firmly, trying to point her chin upwards like Violet did when she won an argument, "of course not."

He laughed; it was such a sharp, clear sound that Hailey almost felt like standing up and saluting it. "Of course not," he said agreeably, and from his tone of voice she could tell that he one hundred per cent knew she was lying. But there was something else in his voice; something warm, something that suggested they were old friends joking around. "You must greet everyone with that delightful little noise you just made. Unless of course, you do _,_ in which case I would beg you to please accept my apologies."

She was blushing – holy _crap_ , she was blushing. That in itself was so embarrassing it made her want to blush more. It wasn't like these people to take an interest in her: in beautiful, blonde Gabrielle, in dark, sweet Violet but not in untidy, clumsy Hailey, who had been slipping inconsistently between too quiet or too loud from the age of seven. It completely caught her off guard that anyone so... _neat_ was smiling at her.

"I didn't mean to bother you," she said hastily, standing up.

"You didn't," said the stranger, amused.

"You don't have to be polite," Hailey said simply. "I'll go – it'll be like I was never even here."

"Well, I certainly don't want that," said the stranger. "Come on – you wouldn't leave me alone with these people, would you?"

The words _aren't you one of them_ died on her lips. His eyes positively danced with amusement as he smiled at her, as if they were sharing some private joke. She dug her toes into the carpet, feeling her stomach dance a little. Whoever this man was, he was not one of them.

She suddenly wished her shorts weren't so short and resisted the urge to tug at them. Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, she saw him glance appraisingly at her legs. Now she was definitely blushing.

Hailey immediately tried to start a staring contest with her toes when her father walked in, a smile plastered on his features. She couldn't remember ever feeling so relieved to see her father.

Then Thomas Evans caught sight of his youngest daughter and the smile he had so kindly (but phonily) given his guest was wiped from his face. His lips stretched into a thin line. Hailey let her eyes widen innocently.

"What are you wearing?" her father snapped, his charming (but, upon closer inspection, not as young as Hailey had thought) companion and composed demeanour forgotten.

'Um. Shorts.' Hailey pulled at her sleeveless blouse awkwardly. "And a shirt. The usual assortment of clothes?" she added, purposely making her father glare.

"When I was your age, I wouldn't have dared to speak to my elders like that," Thomas Evans said coldly. "But these days –"

"These days, humanity has evolved, like it's always done, and in order to do that, sadly, the world as you and I once knew it lies behind us," said the other man coolly and Hailey saw her father's eyes dart back to his guest and possible business partner. She thought she saw a tiny spark of fear in her father's eyes and wondered exactly how much the lanky man in the doorframe was worth, or just what he was capable of.

"Forgive me, Sebastian, but my daughter sometimes forgets her manners," Tom ground out, keeping his eyes firmly on Sebastian.

"Sorry, Father. I was just being progressive," Hailey said before she could stop herself; she looked back at the piano when two faces turned toward her, one bitter, the other amused.

"Sebastian," said her father after some hesitation, "my… daughter, Hailey. Hailey, meet Sebastian Shaw."

Hailey raised a hand in fellow acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you."

"Hailey," her father bore down, chuckling lightly to dilute the anger in his posture. "Sebastian didn't come here for you to waste his time."

She saw it then, in the stranger's face, in the set of his shoulders, in the lines around his mouth: rampant dislike ( _for her father?_ ) and that thrilled her for a moment. But then it was gone and Sebastian, catching her eyes with that amusement – that wondrously contagious amusement – in his own, said light-heartedly, "Now Thomas, I don't think your daughter could waste my time if she wanted to. I had no idea she was such a talented pianist," and she wanted to melt into the carpet, wanted to ignore the pleasant acrobatics her stomach was now performing. She tried to stop the corners of her lips from quirking upwards; however, she wasn't sure if she had succeeded.

"Indeed," Tom said distastefully, after a moment, as though aware there was a joke he was not in on. "Hailey, would you go upstairs and change into something that isn't – so...?" He struggled for a moment. "Progressive?"

"Sure thing, father dearest," Hailey said, rolling her eyes, leaving the room through the other doorway next to the grand piano.

"And get your hair out of your eyes," her father called, suddenly sharp after her sarcastic reply. As soon as she was out of view, she bunched up her fists and huffed.

In the next room, there was the sound of breaking glass followed by a sharp squeak.

Hailey froze. She heard her mother's fake laugh waft through the house, saying that she must have knocked a bottle over.

"Stop it, stop it, _stop it_ ," Hailey whispered to herself. So far, no one really knew why strange things happened in the house but Hailey had a feeling that her parents knew it had to do with her.

She ran up to her room, tying her long ash-brown hair back into a plait. She pulled on the first dress she found – sleeveless and with a cute button-up collar. She looked at all the shoes she had but in the end decided to simply go barefoot.

She thought of the stranger downstairs, who'd looked at her like she was worth all the time in the world. She shivered a little and secretly hoped he'd talk to her again.

 _Not in a weird way,_ she told herself casually. _He's old enough to be my father._

Although things like that had never bothered her. Age. At least, it didn't bother her because she'd had no experience.

Something that lurked near the pit of her stomach suggested that maybe the stranger downstairs would be happy to teach her…

 _Don't think that_ , Hailey thought sharply and her window slammed shut with such force that she jumped. She swallowed hard, wondering why it was acting up so much tonight.

 _You're nervous and you're overthinking_ , she told herself. _Please be calm. Please be normal._

She sat down on her bed, all thoughts of going downstairs banished. _I'll never be normal,_ she thought moodily. Maybe staying in her room was all she was good for. Who needed downstairs? Certainly not her.

She had definitely been misreading the man downstairs. No one would look twice at her when there was Gabby or Violet standing next to her, so well equipped with their elegant strides and their demure smiles.

There was a knock on her door. Hailey jumped again, wondering who on earth it could be. She froze, running through the list in her mind.

No one spoke. There was no voice through the door. After a moment's hesitation, Hailey leapt to her feet and pulled the door open.

No one was there. The noise of the party reached her ears and she shook her head, closing the door again.

Hailey didn't remember feeling tired but the next thing she knew, she was lying in bed, groggily opening her eyes. She felt exhausted, as though she'd run a marathon. The lights were off, and it was still dark outside. She sighed, irritated that she had slept through the end of the party. The stranger was gone. But that was probably for the better.

She rolled over, turning on her bedside lamp.

11:55 pm.

She stared at her clock. That couldn't be right. It was a New Year's party for God's sake – how on earth could the party have completely died down before then? Hailey sat up, straining her ears. She couldn't hear a thing.

Dread rolled like a wave through her stomach. Surely the festivities should still be raging? It wouldn't make sense to stop now – or, from the silence, long before now –

The stillness was like a siren. Something was wrong. She clambered out of bed, too hasty to be silent but too scared to be loud.

The hallway was dark, and the staircase looked so far away from her bedroom door that she was sure it would take years to reach.

Little by little, she managed it, reminding herself that nothing was wrong, that she would go downstairs and realize her clock had stopped hours ago and that it was really three in the morning –

The second stair from the top had a creak. She stepped over it, telling herself it was because she did not want to wake her father.

Because everything was fine, oh yes, her clock had simply stopped, and that was why it had been so silent! She hadn't even heard ticking.

She stopped on the staircase, her body so relaxed she nearly let out a laugh. Silly Hailey. How Gabby would laugh once she heard this story.

Hailey, now smiling smugly to herself, was ready to walk back up to her bedroom when something caught her eye.

She turned back. It had to be the lighting in here – or rather, the lack thereof. There… lying in the doorway to the kitchen… it almost looked like…

Her feet barely touched the floor. She skidded to a stop in front of the kitchen entryway, staring at the long silvery blonde hair that peeked out. If she were to step further into the kitchen, perhaps Gabby would jump up and scare her, and the whole thing would be a cruel joke –

But as she stepped into the kitchen, she saw another crumpled body in the corner, this one with hair as dark as blackberries. Violet, she knew, wouldn't joke like this. Violet would be getting her beauty sleep.

There was no blood. But she knew it was true. She could see it in their open eyes, grey and lifeless.

Hailey stumbled out of the kitchen, feeling almost weightless, numb. She didn't think about shock, she didn't notice how the items around her – the couch, the plates, the grandfather clock her mother so loved – were all beginning to glide towards the ceiling.

This had to be a dream. It was so senseless, so disjointed. _Look for a way to wake up._

Hailey tripped over her bare feet, her eyes wild as she searched desperately for some sign she was dreaming –

Light peered out from the doorway of the dining room. Her parents. It had to be her parents. They would know what to do –

She burst into the dining room, freezing in shock as an absolutely gorgeous woman with voluminous blonde hair sat on the dinner table, examining her nails. Hailey's gaze dropped to the floor.

Her mother and her father were lying upon it, motionless. Once again, there was no blood, no sign of physically harm, but her father's face still bore some of his horror. She couldn't see her mother's face, for it was covered by her long, silvery hair.

"You're not meant to be awake yet," said the woman carelessly, not looking up.

Hailey's legs gave out and she landed on her knees. Cracks appeared in the glass of the floor-to-ceiling wide windows that gave the dining room an excellent view of the Evans Estate, cobwebbing as though a large fat spider had drawn them. Through the windows, the moonlight and the beautiful outdoor lights Lavender Evans had spent so much time on illuminated the number of dark figures lying twisted and motionless on the lawn. She gasped for breath, convulsing as if she were about to vomit.

"My… they're…"

"Are they?" said the blonde woman caustically, and snapped her fingers. Hailey's eyes rolled back into her head and she knew no more. There was an exuberant clatter from the next room; now that Hailey was asleep, gravity could continue uninterrupted.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though nearly four days had passed, Hailey was still having trouble believing her father had been willing enough to let her take a trip; part of her was even sure that he'd only agreed so he wouldn't have to deal with her being in the house for a few weeks.

Of course, who was she to complain? As she stood on the deck of the Caspartina, watching the sun dip towards the horizon, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd felt so free.

It had been six days since Sebastian Shaw had been introduced into her life, and yet she felt she'd known him far longer. At her father's New Year's Eve party, when Hailey had stalked up to her bedroom, fully prepared to sulk, Shaw's voice had stopped her.

And then she'd spent the rest of the night talking to him, or rather, he'd talked and occasionally she'd answer a question, trying not to duck behind her hair too much. But she'd liked listening to him; besides, she'd been too a little too nervous and a little too charmed to come up with more than a few words. Any more and she'd fumble.

They'd sat outside on the patio, and occasionally others would approach them and try to talk to Shaw, and after a few polite sentences of conversation, he'd turn back to her, outsiders forgotten. She'd liked the way he looked at her, as if the rest of the world was black and white and she was in Technicolor. And when he'd offered to take her on his own personal ship, she'd found herself agreeing, mentally reasoning that it was impossible to argue with someone so charismatic. _My New Year's resolution,_ she'd thought triumphantly. _Be bolder._

She still had no idea how Shaw had managed to convince her father – her _father_ , of all people – to allow her to come away with him, especially since she knew what it looked like, knew exactly what rumours would spread. It seemed like a lifetime ago, her memories of leaving her family behind and slipping into the back of a Rolls Royce with Shaw already vague and patchy.

She didn't like thinking about that moment, for some reason; it made her feel out of sorts with herself, and vaguely sad. She pushed it away, choosing to focus on the salmon-coloured sky instead.

* * *

Of _course_ , the first two days on the ship, she'd spent in bed, dizzy and weak. Shaw had said she'd been seasick (even though Hailey couldn't remember feeling nauseous in the slightest. In fact, the only time her stomach had jumped was when Shaw had run his long fingers soothingly through her hair).

By the third day however, things had become clearer and Hailey had felt well enough to explore the ship she was lucky enough to be on. Of course, being _her_ , she'd found the library and had surveyed it with a guilty, hungry desire, running her fingers along the spines of numerous classics, historical journals, atlases... Outside, there was the ocean, and human contact, and social experiences, but in here… the whole world was in here.

She chided herself. Same old Hailey, shy to the point of rude. She would've spent the whole day in there alone if she could have done.

"I'm beginning to think this is a habit of yours."

Hailey was very proud of herself that didn't jump in shock. She couldn't, however, stop herself from guiltily ducking her head as she turned to face him, waiting for the reproval in his voice to come.

"Hiding," Shaw added, perhaps mistaking her wide-eyed stare for confusion rather than anxiety. She frowned. Was it her eyes, or did he look a little younger? "It's awfully unbecoming," Shaw continued, and even though his voice sounded completely serious, she could tell by his eyes that he was teasing her.

"Well, I'm beginning to think you have an unbecoming habit of your own," Hailey replied, "and it's called sneaking up on people."

Smirking slightly, he wandered past her, brushing his fingers along her shoulder blades as he did so. She fought the urge to shiver, stamping down the butterflies that danced in her stomach. _It's because he's a father figure and he's giving you attention and affection,_ she told herself wisely, feeling very grownup as she did so.

But that wasn't quite it…

"… feeling better?"

She started, having only caught the last words of his sentence. "Yes, thank you."

"I hope the lack of pianos hasn't put you off," he continued, his voice rising questioningly at the end of his sentence.

Hailey smiled, her face flushed. _Foolish_ , she thought warningly. "I think I'll survive." She hesitated. "Mister Shaw –"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Hailey, enough with 'Mister Shaw' – call me Sebastian."

Her stomach jumped again and a book suddenly fell off the shelf. She was glad Shaw – _Sebastian_ had been facing her at the time and not the book, or else he might have questioned how it could have fallen from its snug little nook.

"I just wanted to thank you again," Hailey said hurriedly as Sebastian turned, picking up the book. His eyes flickered curiously from its cover to her face.

"I mean," Hailey continued, "this was such a nice gesture – I'm sure that my father will be greatly impressed by your –"

"This has nothing to do with your father," Sebastian said gently. "I want you to realize that, Hailey."

She swallowed, trying not to blush too much. He was still holding the book.

"Could you do something for me, Hailey?" he asked softly.

Hailey nodded without thinking, before realizing that was a very stupid thing to do. She cleared her throat. "I, uh – sure, I can try."

Sebastian didn't say anything for a moment, merely holding her gaze. She stared back, trying to mask her uncertainty. Without warning, Sebastian let the book drop to the floor again.

"Move the book," he said.

Hailey felt her blood run cold. No… there was no way he knew…

She smiled bemusedly. "Okay," she said, stepping forward before kneeling down to –

Sebastian chuckled. "Not like that."

Her heart was pounding like a hare's. She willed her puzzled smile not to falter. "I'm sorry? I don't know what you mean –"

"You know exactly what I mean, Hailey," Sebastian said smoothly and he offered his hand to her. After a moment, she took it and stood up.

"I – I don't know if I –"

"Just try," said Sebastian cheerfully.

Hailey willed her hands not to shake, tried to blindly trust instead of panic. What was going to happen to her? Was Shaw going to imprison her, lock her up because she was different? Or would he just kill her, and dump her body in the ocean? Perhaps _this_ was why her father had agreed to let her come –

Another book jumped off its shelf, but Shaw continued to keep his eyes trained on her. If she didn't do it soon, she worried, he might be disappointed in her.

And then he might send her home.

It was this thought that made her throw her fears to the back of her mind, sealing a door between them and the rest of her thoughts. Almost immediately her posture changed; she seemed grounded, calm. The only sign she was struggling were her clenched fists.

The book at Shaw's feet shuddered before rising two inches off the floor… then half a foot… one foot… two feet…

"Beautiful," Sebastian murmured and the book swiftly skyrocketed another six feet before losing control and falling back towards the ground. Her face burning, she half expected Shaw to catch it.

But he only had eyes for her. The poor book fell to the ground, landing half-open, but Hailey soon forgot all about the silly thing as she saw Sebastian's lips stretch into a proud smile.

"Exquisite," he declared.

"You… you don't think I'm a freak?"

Sebastian frowned, distaste curling his lip. "A freak? Is that what you think you are?"

Mouth dry, Hailey shrugged. "Other people would."

"Oh, Hailey," Sebastian said, almost scoldingly. He stepped forwards, closing the gap between them and Hailey held her breath as he reached out and tucked a strand of ashy brown hair behind her ear. "Who cares what they think? They're inferior to us. It's a beautiful thing, what you can do. The humans should worship you like a goddess."

Hailey hardly dared to believe what he was saying – _a goddess_ – before her brain seemed to catch on something he'd said. _Had he said "us"?_ "There are more people like me –?"

"Like us," Sebastian corrected softly, and her heart leaped wildly. "Of course. Evolution is only natural."

It wasn't just her eyes; he _did_ look younger than he had on New Year's, by about ten years or so.

Hailey felt her legs start to give as the shock started to wear off. She barely had time to mutter, "Excuse me" before tumbling into a comfy looking armchair.

"Is there anything else you can do?" Sebastian asked, and if she'd looked up she might have noticed something more than paternal affection in his eyes.

She was nodding, her mind elsewhere. Others like her. Others that could do unexplainable things like she could. "Where are they?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Good things come to those who wait. Now –"

But she already picked up the sterling silver letter opener she'd seen lying innocently on the side-table next to her currently occupied armchair. She raked the blade down her left forearm, half expecting Sebastian to stop her or at least ask her what she was doing. But Sebastian was dead silent, watching the flesh knit itself back together with interest. Hailey watched his face just as attentively, saw his eyes glint with something greedy, something hungry, something kindred.

Then she blinked and saw he was smiling again. "Wonderful, Hailey. I think you're ready to meet the others now."

* * *

The others. Like her. She'd wished she'd had a little more forewarning when barely seconds after Sebastian had finished speaking, a red devil had appeared in the room. Right out of thin air.

Hailey had bitten her tongue in order not to scream. She could taste coppery blood in her mouth but it would be gone soon, along with the hurt. As she looked at his scarred face, she was surprised to find her fear leaving her.

Sebastian had introduced the man – or mutant, as Sebastian called them – as Azazel, whose gift was teleportation. There were three other people on the boat she hadn't known existed; Azazel, of course, a dark haired, quietly intimidating man whom Sebastian referred to as Riptide, and an outstandingly beautiful woman who made herself known as Emma Frost, a powerful telepath. Hailey dropped her eyes to the floor as Sebastian kissed the gorgeous blonde on the cheek, trying to ignore the foolish envy she could feel gnawing at her stomach.

Emma made her feel a little uneasy, though Hailey couldn't figure out why. It might have been the whole mind reading thing… perhaps that bothered her, especially considering her growing feelings of dislike towards said mind-reader.

However, Emma seemed to radiate instant dislike towards Hailey right off the bat. Though Hailey was confused as to why, she couldn't bring herself to properly care. At least, not after Sebastian lightly placed his hand on the small of her back, unaware of the tremors he was sending up her spine, and asked if she'd like to see the rest of the ship.

* * *

The sun, practically white in the blood red sky, was busy disappearing behind the ocean horizon; barely a semicircle of it remained in view. Hailey watched it fall.

"Something on your mind?" Sebastian had returned with drinks. There was no one else out here besides them.

She smiled at him, wriggling her toes against the cool deck. _Well, let's see. I've just learned today that not only am I not a freak, but that there's an ENTIRE RACE of mutants like me._ "Not really, no," she said sardonically. "Gee, why do you ask?"

Sebastian cocked a brow, catching her eye; again, she felt that inclusion, as if the whole world were a joke and they were the only two that knew about it. He handed her a flute of champagne and she took it, wondering if it tasted better than the wine she'd sneaked at her mother's last party.

"So. What can you do?" she asked, watching the bubbles fizz towards the top of the golden liquid.

"It's not easy to explain," Sebastian said. "I'll have to show you sometime."

"I still can't believe there's others like me," she murmured. She glanced up to see him watching her as though she were the sunset. She smiled, ducking her head down, self-conscious under his shameless stare.

"You shouldn't hide," she heard him say and she felt his fingertips under her chin, gently tilting her head up to face him. He smiled charmingly, his fingers trailing up to brush against her cheek before disappearing. Hailey felt herself glowing with pleasure, and was glad she didn't do something really stupid, like laugh far too loudly or accidentally blow up his champagne flute.

"I don't ever want to go back," she whispered, suddenly sure of it. How could she want to?

Sebastian mused on her words for a moment. The look of satisfaction on his face made her sure she'd said the right words, no matter how wistful they were.

"You don't have to," he said resolutely and she swallowed down the butterflies that had suddenly leapt into her throat. "Your home is with us." He tapped his glass against hers and they drank.

* * *

It was exciting, living on a ship. She lost track of the days far too quickly, caught up in the charm of it all. Her skin tanned and freckled under the glorious sun, and her abilities were sharpened by Sebastian's assistance. Already, she was less likely to send items flying across the room if she was upset or, more often, given a particularly stimulating compliment.

He'd call her beautiful, divine, _perfect_ for fuck's sake… but it was never particularly clear if he was commenting on her or her abilities. Hailey chose to believe he was merely concerned with her abilities… it would be easier for her if she could learn to think of him as a mentor, and only that.

It was Emma who was on Sebastian's arm half the time. Hailey had initially been unsure of their relationship, but Azazel had informed her that more often than not they shared the same bed. And while Hailey could accept that – of course, how could anyone give up beautiful, cold Emma? – she couldn't help how her stomach would flip when Sebastian would place a hand on her shoulder or when his eyes lingered on hers for just a second too long, or when –

The list was monumental, and on top of all that was his attention and praise during the one-on-one sessions to help her telekinesis. It was enough to make her palms sweat and sometimes when she would lie in her bed, replaying those moments in her head, it would lead to a persistent, wonderful ache that rested in the pit of her stomach –

She kept her feelings hidden, treated him like he was a schoolteacher, but if anyone had looked inside her head they would have known the truth: something, she had a feeling, Emma had already done. It didn't take long for Hailey to figure out that they would never be friends – but that was okay, because, to her surprise though, Hailey had already gained a friend on the boat, and this was none other than Azazel.

Obviously, he was nothing like the friends she'd had before – flimsy teenage girls who were interested in boys, alcohol and gossip. Azazel was mainly interested in international politics and history, and boy, was he armed with a wicked sense of humour. They didn't have much in common but he was surprisingly easy to talk to, and more often than not Hailey found herself sitting on the built-in lounge at the boat's rear, listening to stories of death-defying acts, of fleeing countries, of the demon that his mother had claimed to be his father.

"Did they all treat you like that?" she asked one day, as Janus brought the boat further inland. They were to reach Sebastian's private estate before sunset. "The humans, I mean."

After a moment, Azazel shook his head. "Not all – but those that did not were very few. Mostly there was fear. And from fear comes hate, da?"

Hailey nodded. "That must've been awful. All I wanted was to be normal – at least, until I met Shaw." Calling him Shaw out loud helped her distance herself from the idea of him.

"I stopped wanting normal after a while," said Azazel, his eyes faraway. His voice hardened. "I did not want normal if it meant I would be like _them_." His mouth twisted into a small snarl. "If something is not like them, it must go. Even if it is their own child."

He turned to her, and it occurred to her that when she'd first seen his facial scars, she'd felt repulsed. Now she wondered who had given them to him.

"All of humanity is inferior," Azazel said gruffly. "And yet they think they come first. They would eradicate us if given the chance. This is why we must keep together," he added, standing up as the dock came into view. "Stronger this way."

"Did you ever meet any other mutants?" Hailey murmured, wishing they could steer the conversation towards something lighter. Right now she felt something close to pity for the red mutant, and she didn't think he'd want it.

He nodded. "Once. A man who could not die, like you."

 _Couldn't die?_ Hailey blanched. Sure, she'd cut herself, stabbed herself, burned herself; you name it. But she'd always been too afraid to try dying. What if she simply didn't come back?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

His house had been just as grand as she expected. It wasn't like her parent's house, which was white, modern and cold. The walls were mainly dark wood, laden with elegantly carved designs, and the floors seemed to consist of either dark tiles or burgundy carpet, exuding the idea that whoever lived within its walls would have a very comfortable life indeed.

She'd had to refrain herself from running straight up the sturdy looking staircase, from inhaling deeply so she could catch the surprisingly pleasant aroma of cigar smoke and sandalwood. Turning to Sebastian, the question "Can I look around?" died on her lips as she came face to face with Emma.

"Your room's upstairs," she said carelessly, "two doors down on the right. The parlour is off limits. Don't break anything."

Hailey narrowed her eyes, particularly stung by the last sentence more than anything else. "I'm not a child."

"Then why were you going to ask for permission?" Emma replied, cocking her head, and from her voice it sounded as if she'd rather have her fingernails removed than endure any more of this conversation. Before Hailey could respond, Emma stalked away after Sebastian, her white heels clacking on the tiles as they walked towards what Hailey assumed was the parlour.

Scowling, Hailey set down her duffel bag, following Emma –

A hand closed on her shoulder and everything went dark. White noise crackled in her ears, occasionally split with shrieking, and after images of white, deformed faces seemed to burn in front of her –

It lasted for maybe two seconds at most. When they came back, they were in a decent sized bedroom with huge windows that looked out to where the Caspartina was docked.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Hailey burst out, rounding on Azazel.

"You do not," Azazel said, smirking as he tossed her duffel bag on what Hailey thought looked like the most comfortable bed she'd ever seen, "want to fuck with Emma. She will scramble your brain." He swirled his finger next to his temple in the universal sign for crazy. "Make you think your eyelids will try to eat your nose. Or that Florida air is poisonous."

"Do you travel through that place every time you teleport?" Hailey asked warily, unable to resist testing out the bed. She took a running jump and landed face down in the middle of the mattress, narrowly avoiding her duffel bag.

"No, I only go there especially for you," she heard Azazel said wryly. He cleared his throat and Hailey grimaced as his voice came out all squeaky. "'Oh, thank you, Azazel, you truly are an amazing friend'. It is no problem, Hailey, really, I only travel through hell dimension for you."

Hailey, still seething from Emma's comments and in no mood to be teased, swiftly sat up to retort that, _apparently_ , Azazel travelled through a hell dimension _every time_ he teleported, but he was no longer there. Sebas –

( _no_ )

Shaw probably needed him for something. _In the parlour,_ she thought viciously.

She flopped down on her back, watching as her duffel bag lifted into the air as though controlled by invisible marionette strings. She gently set it down next to the bed, listening to the whir of the zipper unzipping. A bulky wool knit jumper floated up into her hands, and Hailey pulled the grey garment over her head, kicking off her shoes and wriggling out of her shorts.

She curled up on the bed, fuming, positive she would lie there for days, surviving on anger alone. She could remember being twelve, and her mother –

( _motionless her face covered by her hair_ )

Hailey frowned, shaking her head

( _bad thoughts_ )

making the curtains dance this way and that. She knew she was overreacting, and that was only making her angrier. She snidely supposed it didn't matter since she was considered to be nothing more than a child; maybe she'd be extra childish and never speak to any of them again – even Sebas – _Shaw._

But before she could do any of that, she fell asleep.

* * *

"You're not concentrating," Shaw said.

Hailey wrinkled her nose at the three pencils lying innocently on the mahogany desk, glad he didn't glance up and see the sour look on her face. _Look who's talking,_ she thought.

They were in the study (because, apparently, that wasn't off limits, unlike the parlour); Shaw was sitting behind his desk, rather invested in a manila folder with foreign red letters stamped on the front. Hailey sat in front of him, the desk between them, with her elbows on the polished wood, chin cupped in her hands, glowering at the pencils that she was supposed to move in three opposite directions – _all at once_. She hadn't quite slept off her grumpy mood, and was finding it easier to simply further her frustration rather than dispel it.

Shaw wasn't helping. He'd woken her up at some ungodly hour – _okay,_ she thought, _to be fair, it's half past eight now so it couldn't have been_ that _long ago_ – and now, during the time he was meant to be helping her, he'd fixed her with some impossible task so that she could struggle while he focused on other, more important things. But it was mainly the fact that, when he'd woken her up, she hadn't been wearing _pants_ – _he couldn't have_ knocked? –that had already sealed the day's fate for her.

It was going to suck. Of that she was already sure.

Hailey huffed. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to try to move the pencils again. She could move _two_ in opposite directions at the same time; she could control that for as long as she liked. But with three in the mix, everything started to get a little jumbled; so far, she'd only managed to send two in one direction, with the third pencil mirroring the actions of the first two.

Oh, and she'd made them all judder violently on the desk for about thirty seconds, before Shaw, frowning ever so slightly, had looked up from his file and asked her to stop.

She really wished she'd at least kept her shorts on last night. Then again, he hadn't really seemed to mind, hadn't seemed to notice how her face turned bright red or how her stomach had lurched delightedly when he'd accidentally brushed his hand against her calf.

One of the pencils wobbled half-heartedly. Hailey ignored it, glancing out one of the wide windows. The colours seemed to be starker here, with an impossibly blue ocean, too-green grass. There were palm trees for God's sake. This was nothing like her old home.

She had no idea how long she'd been staring until Shaw cleared his throat. She started, her eyes darting guiltily to his, but he was regarding her with a knowing smile on his face, snapping the file shut and tossing it lightly on his desk. He looked older today than he had for the last week or so – and although she knew his varying age had something to do with his abilities (a twinge of anger flared in her chest), he was yet to share the correlation between the two. That and what it was he could actually do.

"Don't tell me," he mused, standing up as she stared, torn between the bitterness of being left out and the burst of pleasure she felt from being the centre of his attention. "You're actually mad because this is the first thing you haven't picked up straightaway."

Hailey wanted to roll her eyes and explain the numerous nuances that were bothering her, but she couldn't stop the smile that tweaked her lips. It was his fault, she decided as he stood next to her, with that contagious grin of his.

"This is _not_ the first thing I haven't picked up straightaway," she retorted, even more annoyed that he was kind of right. Not that she was Captain Amazing or anything, but when it came to telekinesis, she was able to get the hang of new things fairly quickly. "I have trouble with this kind of stuff all the time. I mean, you've seen what –"

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Shaw replied, flashing her a surprisingly cheeky smirk that made her cheeks flame. She pouted, stoutly turning her gaze back to the window.

"Now I know you're thinking there are probably a thousand things more interesting than this," Shaw said sympathetically, while Hailey secretly thought she would have loved to sit here in this room with him all day, "but just humour me for now, would you?"

She reluctantly let her eyes lock on his. There, held in his fingers, was one of the pencils. She frowned up at him, perhaps pouting _ever_ so slightly –

" _Don't_ give me that look," Sebastian smirked and Hailey huffed again, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

"You just need to try a little harder, princess," he said warmly and she gave in.

Hailey tried hard to simply stare at the pencil, to ignore just how often, in the dark hours of the night, she'd wondered what sensations those learned hands might be able to elicit from her body.

The pencil snapped and Hailey's stomach, previous twisting deliciously, sunk as she saw Sebastian's smile slip away. His face was about as easy to read as _Finnegans Wake,_ but she could see the sharp flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

"All right," he said heavily, carelessly tossing the two halves of the pencil over his shoulder, "all right, Hailey, you can go."

Hailey had thought she felt excluded before, but as she looked into his apparently vacant eyes, she realized how foolish she'd been. His expression was almost completely blank – a poker face that her fifteen-year-old self would've sold an arm for – and that meant she was by herself, rejected from the secret world that his eyes had previously insisted contained them and them alone.

"It was an accident," she said, and her voice sounded very small.

Sebastian said nothing, merely raising his brows up and down as if chiding her. He turned away, leaning over the desk to paw through the folder again. She caught a glimpse of more foreign characters.

"Really," Hailey said, her voice ever so slightly louder, wishing she wasn't so desperate for his praise. "I'm sorry. Look, I can do it –"

"I'm not your father, Hailey," Sebastian said, not even bothering to look up at her. The chill in his voice brought a lump to her throat. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste my time like you did his."

The words hit her like a physical blow; they almost sent her reeling. Instead, she ducked her head, letting her dishwater brown hair hide the tears that threatened to spill.

She tried to say something but when she opened her mouth nothing would come out. So she darted out, sure that Sebastian would happier the sooner she left.

Well, she'd been right from the get-go. Not even ten o'clock and the day was already awful. Unfortunately, however, the fault was entirely her own.

* * *

She sat near the dock, where the grass melded into a sandy, pebbled bank, taking in deep breaths of salty air. She closed her eyes, listened to the occasional slap of the water against the Caspartina, feeling the tears roll down her cheeks, tasting them on her lips.

No one followed her out, and for that she was grateful. She almost wished Sebastian had followed her but his last comment was still too fresh and awful for her to find him comforting. She realized with something like horror that she missed her family; she wasn't entirely sure how such a thing could be true. Well, not her father so much… but Gabby, and Violet. Even her mother, who still sometimes sat Hailey on the floor and wove her hair into wonderful plaits – if things had quietened down and nothing had inexplicable broken for a few days. Her mother, who had sung her to sleep when she was scared or sick, who had graciously eaten the horrible pancakes Hailey had made all by herself on her thirteenth birthday, who –

( _lying dead on the floor)_

Who had always cared more about Gabby and Vi.

Hailey covered her mouth with her hands, squeezing her eyes shut as tightly as she could, almost trembling with the silent sobs that wracked her body. Eventually her breathing eased, and she resignedly chose to focus on the better, if not lesser, parts of her relationship with her mother.

She stared at the horizon, unfocused. Then, slowly, she levitated three smooth white pebbles.

She practiced not only until she got it right, but until she could do it without having to really think of it. To her it hadn't felt like a long time – an hour or so, tops – but when she finally let the pebbles fall back to the ground, the sun was rather low in the sky.

Suddenly aware of how dry her mouth felt, Hailey stood up, brushing the sand off her ass and thighs, and trudged back towards the house.

* * *

She gulped down two glasses of water in the kitchen before meandering up to her room. Her butt had lost some feeling after sitting on the pebbly bank for God knew how long, and she winced as the pins and needles began to really hit.

The house was quiet – so quiet she was sure no one else was here. Well, Shaw – her stomach ached dully – was a business man: he probably had ten places to be at once, and with Azazel's help it was likely he could manage such a feat.

And of course Emma would go with him – why wouldn't you bring a telepath to help you with your deals? And Janus – well, Hailey wasn't entirely sure what his use would be, unless you needed someone who could stand there dead silent. In fact, it was perfectly likely Janus was still here – he never made a sound anyway, why would he start now?

Honestly, Hailey was glad no one was here. Maybe she'd stay in her room for the rest of the day, relax, take a shower… let them get on with their work. There was nothing wrong with that.

She opened her bedroom door, not immediately registering there was a small package lying on her bed, gift-wrapped with a little card on top. Hailey stared at it for a moment, surprised, and then unnecessarily wary, before approaching it as though it were a wild animal.

She plucked the card away from the package, a little nervous as to what it might say. What if it was something like, " _Dear Hailey, you really disappointed me today, I'll only let you stay here if you can levitate this package into space_ "? She rolled her eyes, knowing she was being stupid, but decided to procrastinate on the card by opening the package first.

Her heart jumped; it was a cocktail dress, the kind her mother would have said, "fit like a glove" and "showed too much leg for modesty". It was black, shiny with sequins, elegant and probably far too expensive. It was nothing like the childishly bright dresses her mother would buy her, and she absolutely loved it.

She picked up the plain card, heart hammering as she opened it, and saw the two words scrawled inside. _Forgive me?_

Hailey's smile felt too wide for her face. She cradled the card in her hands as if it were a baby bird, and if she'd looked up she would have noticed that the bed had slowly risen three feet off the floor.

* * *

She decided to take a shower before seeking Sebastian out, feeling it would do some good to wash away the bad feelings of the day. _Long hot showers are a gift from God,_ Hailey thought before finally turning the water off. She'd only just wrapped the towel around her body when she thought she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she called, figuring it was fine for someone to be in her room anyway, what with her bathroom door being closed. She untied her now slightly damp hair from the knot on top of her head.

"Hailey?" said a voice from her bedroom and she froze. It was Sebastian. Here she was, in only a _towel,_ with no clothes (apart from her dirty ones)and _Sebastian_ in the next room.

"Hi!" she said as cheerfully as she could.

"Could you come out here? I need to talk to you."

"Won't be a minute," Hailey said, keeping her panic out of her voice. _Fuck it, dirty clothes it is._ "Thank you for the dress," she added, mentally deciding she'd skip the underwear, picking up her shorts. "It's beautiful."

"Have you tried it on?" His voice sounded like it was just outside the bathroom door.

"Not yet," Hailey said lightly, struggling into her cut-offs. After a moment, the door creaked open – Hailey covered her breasts with one arm, clapping a hand to her mouth to muffle her squeak –

The door stopped, just wide enough for his hand to slip through, offering her the dress.

Hailey secured her towel around herself as tightly as possibly. "Thank you," she said gently, taking the garment and waiting until he'd removed his arm before closing the door.

After drying herself off more thoroughly, she pulled the dress over her head. For a moment, all she could do was stare at herself in the mirror: she looked like a grown woman, one who could definitely counter Gabrielle's beauty. She almost forgot that she wasn't alone until Sebastian told her to come out and show him.

"No, I'm not zipped up," she said, a little giggly. _Ugh, who even giggles anymore?_ she chided. _Don't try to be cute._

Sebastian opened the door and she blushed, wondering if he'd heard her correctly. She started to protest until his motives became apparent; standing behind her, he told her to hold her hair up.

Trying to ignore her excitement, she swept her hair over her shoulder, watching him in the bathroom mirror as he zipped up her dress, his lips curved in a soft smile. She felt like all her nerves were positively crackling with some kind of electrical current. He glanced up and she looked away, already feeling the blush creep up her neck, just starting to peek over the dress' bateau neckline.

"I really didn't mean to be such a brat this morning," she heard herself say, and nearly kicked herself. _Of course, when the tension gets too much, just blurt out the first thing on your mind. Great job, Hailey._

"Already forgotten," Sebastian said graciously, and she froze, her eyes wide; she could feel his breath on her ear.

She cleared her throat, ducking out of the en suite. It was too narrow in there, and Shaw wasn't exactly helping: he could've made a room the size of a football field feel small and intimate.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Hailey said wildly, suddenly very interested in levitating her sneakers.

If he had noticed her sudden change of demeanour, he said nothing about it. "I have business in Vegas tonight," he continued, "and I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

She was so surprised she nearly let the sneakers drop. "I – sure, if I'm even allowed in Vegas," she managed a laugh. "I'm not twenty-one."

"Don't worry about that, it's my club. Are you still upset with me?"

She paused, this time letting her sneakers fall to the floor. "Of course not," she said honestly, feeling a little guilty at the confusion in his voice.

His voice came from right behind her. "Well, will you look at me?"

Hailey swallowed, wishing her heart rate would drop. Her palms were sweating, and the sequins were not absorbent in the slightest. She turned around, smiling as casually as she could. She almost forgot how mortified she felt when she saw his expression.

"You look breathtaking," Sebastian murmured, and her smile became more relaxed, more real. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, looking down.

"Watch what you say," she said dryly, "unless you want me to send books flying off the shelf –"

Her words died on her lips as he placed his hand under her chin, tipping her head up to face his. Her stomach danced. He was very close, barely a hands-breadth away.

"What are you hiding from me, Hailey?" he said, his voice low and far too enjoyable to her ears.

"Nothing," Hailey said quickly. "I'm – I'm not hiding anything."

He glanced at her lips for half a second too long then back to her eyes. "No?" he asked amusedly, slowly letting his hand travel from under her chin to the back of her neck.

Hailey was utterly lost, unable to say or do anything. Her pulse, if possible, had risen in speed. At what seemed like a very odd time, she remembered she was wearing absolutely nothing under her dress, and something throbbed in the pit of her belly.

There was a _crack_ and a distraction arrived in the shape of Azazel. Hailey nearly jumped out of her skin, instinctively taking a huge step away from Shaw, whose hand had dropped back to his side.

"Frost says she needs to talk to you about Hendry," Azazel said gruffly, not even looking at Hailey. "In the parlour."

She noticed how Sebastian's mouth thinned, how his eyes grew cooler. "Of course she does," he said matter-of-factly. "I'll be right down."

Azazel nodded, finally casting a questioning glance in Hailey's direction before disappearing. Sebastian turned to her, face apologetic.

"We'll leave once I've finished with Emma," he promised, and, lightning fast, he leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek. Once he left the room, Hailey sat down heavily on the bed, her head swimming, her toes curled, surmising that maybe today hadn't been so bad after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Only three boys had kissed her in her entire lifetime (nothing monumental; at least not compared to the numbers racked up by some of the girls in her old friend group). Her first had been in second grade, when Blake Meyers had declared that he liked her during a game of hide and seek. He'd lightly planted one on her lips and asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend. The relationship had lasted all of a day, and Hailey hadn't exactly been sad to see it go.

There had been Toby Paxton at Alyssa's fifteenth birthday party, which she'd found a little wet but ultimately flattering, and Liam Marsh at Katie's Halloween celebration, who'd been nice enough until his hands had tried to make their way up her shirt. The next morning she'd seen him lying next to another girl, one who obviously hadn't minded his wandering hands.

None of these had been particularly earth shattering. The only one she'd somewhat enjoyed was Toby's, and she could clearly remember growing more and more bored during their make out, wondering when it would be polite to stop.

Sebastian, on the other hand, had barely touched her, and now she had to lie down because her heart was beating too quickly.

This was a mess. Had he really been about to kiss her, or was she seeing things that weren't there? She sat up, her brain whirring. Possibly he'd only been trying to apologize and, being Sebastian, had accidentally ended up being more flirtatious than usual. That had to be it, yes, because…

Hailey sighed. It didn't have to make sense. All she really had to know was that right now, Sebastian was downstairs with Emma, and not up here with her.

She remembered she was still wearing the dress he'd bought her. Sitting up, she rummaged through her duffel bag in search of her hairbrush. She didn't know how long Shaw and Emma were going to be, but she had to assume what they were doing was a little more elaborate than pleasant conversation. That being the case however, there was no telling when he'd be ready to leave, so she decided there was no point in waiting.

* * *

She hadn't exactly been surprised when all of them had come along to Vegas. Azazel, of course, was their mode of transportation, and she vaguely remembered Sebastian had said something about business so of course Emma had come along. Janus, she supposed, had _something_ to do with it, not that he'd ever bother communicating what his role might be.

In the end, really, she wondered if Sebastian had only brought her along out of sympathy.

But the club itself was interesting in its own right, surprisingly similar to the décor of Sebastian's own house. Hailey had never been to Las Vegas, and she hadn't exactly known what to expect.

It was packed with a number of men in expensive suits and women with hardly any clothes on. Hailey hadn't quite known where to look when a beautiful woman in a garter belt offered her a drink.

"Thank you," Sebastian said, placing his empty glass on the girl's tray and his hand on the small of Hailey's back. The girl nodded, handed them both a flute of champagne and stalked off. Sebastian smiled apologetically, unaware that Hailey had frozen like a deer in the headlights. "I know it probably seems crude, but we cater to a specific kind of a crowd here."

"Old rich dudes?" Hailey supplied dryly, forcing herself to be normal. She looked around the room, wondering if any of them had ever attended her father's parties, and was a little uncomfortable to find more than a few eyeing her quite appreciatively. Sebastian might have noticed this too because suddenly his arm was around her waist, tugging her a little closer. Hailey felt rolls of white-hot pleasure run up her back.

"Well unfortunately, the 'old rich dudes' here come with a good deal. Lots of money, lots of connections," Sebastian said, his face serious, but she could hear the smile creeping through his voice. "And ultimately expendable."

Hailey frowned, looking up at him. "You don't mean that?"

Sebastian levelled her gaze, tapping his glass against hers. "Why not? If they could, they'd get rid of us in a heartbeat." He took a sip, and after a moment Hailey did too.

Emma approached them, leading a short man with curly dark hair and a white bowtie. Hailey felt a little satisfied at the look on Emma's face; it could not be clearer that the telepath wasn't pleased.

"Colonel Hendry couldn't make it tonight," Emma said coolly, somehow managing to ignore Hailey even though she was practically leaning on Sebastian. "He sends his apologies and his associate, Mister Raymond Diaz." The man in the white bowtie nodded, holding his hand out to Sebastian. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Shaw."

"Thank you, Raymond," Sebastian said lightly, taking Diaz's hand. His demeanour seemed pleasant enough but Hailey could see from the sudden tension in his shoulders and jaw that he wasn't particularly happy about the substitution.

"Colonel Hendry said we might be able to discuss these matters in private?" Diaz queried, his eyes flitting between Sebastian and Hailey.

Hailey, assuming she wasn't part of these matters and would therefore go check out the rest of the club, took a step back. Or at least, she tried to; Sebastian frowned at her as she tried to pull away, Diaz and Emma forgotten.

"Right this way, Mister Diaz," Emma said lightly but Hailey saw the quick look of disapproval Sebastian threw her way. Hailey wondered if they were speaking right now, stuck in a conversation the rest of the world would never hear. After a second she saw Emma's eyes narrow before she turned to Diaz, holding out her hand and offering him a dazzling smile. He took it and they disappeared off into the crowd, in the direction of the intriguingly secret room they had arrived in, the one Azazel and Janus were currently occupying.

"It's okay," Hailey said, not sure if she'd done something wrong, "I'll be fine out here."

Sebastian glanced around the room. His voice lowered. "Hailey, the men here aren't exactly what you'd call respectable."

"Well, if I have any complaints I'll just take it up with the owner," Hailey said blithely. Sebastian gave her what was meant to be a reproving look, but his eyes didn't quite lose their fondness.

"Your guest is waiting," Hailey pressed, wishing he'd hold onto her forever but also hoping he'd let go so maybe her heart rate could return to normal.

"I'd prefer it if you came out the back," Sebastian said coaxingly, still holding onto her. Hailey rolled her eyes, wondering if he still felt bad about today. She nodded her assent and allowed him to hold her for a little bit longer as they moved through the crowd.

* * *

Diaz was waiting in the office out the back. Hailey had assumed that had been where the meeting would commence but once Emma saw Hailey was joining them, she gave Sebastian such a cold stare that he'd resignedly stated that Hailey could stay in the office and they'd use the next room – which, to Hailey's interest, was accessed by a secret door in the bookcase.

She didn't mind – or at least, she told herself that she didn't. She let herself pour over the bookcases, although nothing particularly struck her fancy.

Trying not be bored, she counted all the books she could see in the room. Then lamps. Then how many sips she could make her champagne last for. Then chairs and the side tables. As she moved onto artworks, she realized that one of the pieces hanging above the desk was incredibly familiar; her father had the same one in his study.

It was a picture of a boat on a stormy sea, all dark colours and choppy waves. Her father had once explained to her that the boat was meant to be coming out of the storm, but Hailey thought the artist hadn't quite gotten that across: the boat itself looked tiny and trapped.

A door slid open and Hailey jumped. She was so close to the painting now she practically had her nose in it.

Diaz, however, didn't notice. His face was as pale as his bowtie. He stammered out his thanks before Emma, casting another icy look at Hailey, led him out of the office and back to the party.

"That wasn't too boring, was it?" Sebastian asked, his smile waning as he saw what she was looking at.

"My father had the exact same," Hailey said quietly.

"I know," Sebastian said. "I'm afraid that was my fault; once he saw mine, he had to have one."

"My father came _here_?" Hailey asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course," said Sebastian promptly, rearranging some papers on the desk. "He used to visit quite frequently. He was here last December."

"But –" Hailey shook her head. "He hasn't flown anywhere since –"

She got it then. "Azazel brought him here," she said slowly.

Shaw smiled at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "There's nothing much left to do here," he said lightly, as if she'd just said nothing, "so if you're ready, we can –"

"Sebastian," Hailey interrupted, and she saw the irritation flit across his face. "Why did you say 'used to'?"

He stared at her, nonplussed.

"When you just talked about my dad," Hailey continued, "you said ' _used_ to visit'. Past tense." Something in her brain seemed to be egging her on, making sense even where she could see none. "What happened? Is he –"

 _(dead)_

"– what, banned or something?"

"Of course not. He and I just don't see eye to eye on some matters."

Hailey licked her lips, anxiety starting to settle in the pit of her stomach. "You – you didn't tell him that I'm not coming home, did you?" She'd occasionally wondered how she was going to do such a thing, and had ultimately decided she'd wait until her original time was up before making the call.

Sebastian looked down at the desk, bracing his hands against it. "No," he said quietly. "He already knows you're not coming home."

Hailey stared, a little nervous and more than a little confused by his sudden change in demeanour. "What do you mean?" she asked.

When he glanced up, the sorrow in his eyes startled her. He almost looked as if he was pleading with her. "I didn't want to have to tell you this, Hailey."

"Tell me what?" she demanded, her stomach twisting in panic.

Sebastian sighed, not looking her in the eyes. "He knew what you were."

Hailey's blood went cold. She found herself unable to speak, waiting for him to finish.

"He offered," Sebastian continued slowly, still not looking at her, "to pay me a lot of money to take you away from him. He told me he'd play it off as a scandal so the rest of the family wouldn't worry when you didn't come home. He was worried," he added wearily, "that you'd hurt someone if you weren't careful."

Hailey sat down, her knees weak, unable to believe what she was hearing. "No – no, he –" A lump started to form in her throat, her hands started to shake. "How could my own _father_ –?"

"Thomas wasn't your father, Hailey," she heard Sebastian say, but that information was too much and so she shut it out with a vicious kind of desperation.

Her father – or at least the man who had acted very poorly as her father – had paid someone to take her away. She immediately regretted every scrap of guilt she'd ever felt thinking about how her family might take it once she told them she was never coming home.

And Sebastian – _Sebastian_ had only taken her because her father had paid for such a thing. This whole time she'd felt special and so stupidly _lucky_ – but now –

Her empty champagne flute, left on one of the side tables, promptly exploded. Shaw's head whipped up.

"Oh, Hailey," he said, and earlier that day she would've simply _loved_ the sympathy in his voice, but now it made her dig her nails into her palms.

"So that's all I am?" Hailey asked with a calmness she didn't feel. "Another business deal?"

The desk was rattling now – so were the side tables, the chairs. The painting she'd seen in Tom Evans' study every day for the last five years fell to the floor, the glass cracking. She closed her eyes, not sure whether she should get a hold of herself or break the whole place in half.

"Of course not." Shaw's soothing tone was worthless to her. "Hailey, you've got the wrong idea." She felt his hands in her hair, brushing against her chin –

"Don't _touch_ me!" she snapped, opening her eyes and going to slap him –

He blocked her hit with his forearm, and Hailey swore her eyes were playing tricks on her – for a second, there seemed to be two hands at the end of his left wrist.

She struggled to her feet, ready to storm out, but he caught her by the shoulders.

"Hailey," Shaw said, his tone harder now, "stop it."

"I trusted you," Hailey cried, not caring that the books were flying off their shelves, that two lamps had fallen and broken. She struggled, twisting this way and that, but it was no use – it was as if whatever blow she threw at him died on impact.

"I didn't take the money," Shaw said calmly.

"Oh, sure," Hailey laughed derisively, ceasing her struggles momentarily to glare at him. " _Sure._ You didn't take it, but you just brought me along anyway, didn't you?"

"I didn't take the money," Shaw repeated, "because I thought that what you are and what you have is worth more than all the money in the world. But Thomas, like the rest of his race, can't comprehend –"

"This isn't about that," Hailey snarled, trying to pull away. A side table flipped over.

Shaw tugged her back effortlessly, pressing her against him in an attempt to trap her arms between them. "I brought you with me because I knew that if I left you with them, they'd ruin you," he said patiently. "They made you _want_ to be normal. They couldn't accept you for what you were."

"Stop it," Hailey whispered, frozen. Everything in the room was still, quiet.

"Here you are – blessed with this _power_ – and all they can think about is getting rid of you," Shaw said bitterly. He was still holding her against him, even though all the fight had left her. "If I'd let that happen to someone with such a gift – such a _beautiful_ gift, Hailey…" He trailed off. He released her, letting one hand tuck a wild thicket of hair behind her ear, his thumb brushing against a tear rolling down her freckled cheek.

Hailey leaned into his hand, feeling hollow and tired, not even wanting to look at the mess she'd made. She let her eyes shut, half considering letting her head drop against Sebastian's chest so she could rest, maybe whilst apologizing profusely.

"How do you feel?" she heard him ask, and to her delight he didn't sound mad: in fact, he sounded as if he found her sudden weariness endearing.

"Like I need ten vats of coffee," Hailey murmured, ready to sit down again. That was it; in five seconds, she was either going to lean against Sebastian or fall back into the chair. She'd just let go, and leave it up to her body to pick the direction.

"Poor Hailey," Sebastian said, and she could clearly hear the smirk in his voice. "Want me to wake you up, princess?"

She almost told him off – really, how could anybody make _princess_ sound so positively delicious – when suddenly, just as she was going to lean against him, he claimed her lips with his own, still stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Hailey jumped as if she'd received a huge electric shock. Unfortunately, this resulted in her overbalancing and tipping backwards, so she had to catch herself on the desk.

Sebastian blinked, and Hailey could see the bemusement in his eyes. "Well, if –"

"I'm still tired," Hailey blurted, although she felt nothing of the sort – her body was buzzing, her innards were dancing the conga – and she looped her arms around his neck, hastily pressing her lips against his as if afraid he'd take back his offer. Sebastian, however, was only too happy to comply.

* * *

The days that followed were incredibly interesting, if not always productive. Her one-on-one sessions with Sebastian were hardly lessons anymore – or at least, lessons of a different kind. He'd ask her to do something easy, like levitate as many items in the room as possible and she'd concentrate, minding her own business, and then his teeth would set to work at her neck, occasionally countered by surprisingly gentle kisses. She'd feel his warms hands trace the curves of her sides, enough to make her skin burn, and he'd pull her back against him, the heat of his body almost too much to bear.

Her focus would obviously wane and the objects would drop back to the floor, and Sebastian would let go of her, suggesting huskily in her ear that maybe she wasn't concentrating hard enough. And so Hailey would get back to her original task, trying to ignore the pleasant ache she felt between her thighs, and the whole process would repeat itself.

She quickly learned that, when it came to the bedroom, Sebastian was the kind of boy who liked to play with his food before he ate it. Three minutes alone with him, and he could have her wrapped around his finger, pleading and begging, promising to be a good girl if he'd only touch her just _there_ – and he'd tease her until he was unable to contain himself any longer, finally descending upon her like a starving man greeted with a meal.

Not all of her nights were spent with Sebastian, but she was happy to know that Emma was spending exactly zero time in his bed, something that was the opposite of what Hailey had been preparing for. She'd half expected him to look for satisfaction elsewhere, probably wouldn't have even blamed him for it –

It had been back in Vegas, back in the pressing heat of the secret office. Sebastian had her sitting on the desk, and was fervently kissing her in a way that made her toes curl. Her legs had been wrapped around his hips (her body seemed to take over) and she'd felt the hardness through his pants, and had been hit with a pang of anxiety that had made her pull away.

"I've never done this before," she blurted, wishing she could have been slightly more low key about it. But part of her was worried: worried it would hurt, worried if it happened right _now_ then maybe he wouldn't want anything else from her…

Sebastian had said nothing, waiting for her to make a decision. After a moment, she'd said, "Would it… would it be okay if we waited on that particular…?"

"Of course." He'd kissed her again, slower this time, a little more tenderly. Her heart had leapt into her throat, her veins thrumming with adrenaline as she'd caught the devilish grin that lurked on his face. "But there are other things, you know," he'd said, his eyes full of promise as he'd kissed her deeply, his hands grabbing her hips and holding her so tightly against him that she thought she might explode from the delicious friction.

* * *

Janus held the pistol to her head. Hailey kept her eyes open, trying to will her stomach into submission.

"It won't hurt," Sebastian said soothingly, and her eyes darted towards him, wondering how she'd let him talk her into this. Well, actually, that wasn't too hard to recall: she could still remember the kisses he'd placed on the insides of her thighs, tantalizingly close, torturously far away. It made her ache just thinking about it.

But right now, she wasn't in his bedroom, safe and warm and meticulously well looked after. She was on the patio, the sea air thick in her nostrils, standing on a large sheet of plastic. Apparently that was to catch the blood.

"I –"

"Hailey, we talked about this," Shaw said, a little more sternly.

 _No,_ you _talked about this_ , Hailey thought dryly. At the time, she'd almost forgotten what words were. The only ones she'd been able to say were, "Sebastian", "please" and eventually "yes".

She vaguely wondered where Emma was. She thought the telepath would have wanted nothing more than to watch her die.

Azazel's tail flicked from side to side, the only part of him that moved. He was watching Sebastian with an almost vacant expression, refusing to look at the gun.

The pistol clicked and Hailey's stomach dropped; she opened her mouth to protest but there wasn't any time.

For a time, it was darkness. Quiet, soothing darkness. And then she was gasping awake on the ground, her heart thankfully racing, alive, alive and –

"Two minutes and thirteen seconds," Sebastian said, looking pleased, and Hailey tried to get her voice to work, tried to ask him why he wasn't holding her gently and kissing it all better. Instead, she strained to comprehend why he was taking the pistol from Janus, holding it in his own hand. "Let's see if we can get an even two minutes."

Azazel scoffed, turned away.

Sebastian levelled the gun to her forehead. "Again," he said.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hailey." His voice sounded muffled through the bathroom door. "Stop sulking and come out here."

She ignored him, lost in the hot water that rushed through her hair, over her face. She'd died five times today. She'd started crying some time around the third.

A heavy sigh, another knock. "Hailey?"

The girl who couldn't die. What did that mean for her? A life of outliving everyone she knew?

Shaw's tone, so sharp it could've cut steel. "Hailey, open the door."

She turned off the blissful water, wrapped herself in a towel and opened the door. Shaw stood there, blue eyes cold and lips thinned. God forbid she ignored _his_ pleas.

"Sorry," she said, more so because she knew it would solve the situation rather than because she was actually sorry. She let her gaze drop to the floor. If she was downtrodden and submissive, Sebastian might perform a complete one-eighty and feel like protecting her.

She felt his hand under her chin, perhaps a little more forceful than usual, but when she looked up she saw something in his gaze had softened. "Hailey, I don't like it when you ignore me," he said gently, and the words left her mouth before she could stop herself –

"I don't like it when you shoot me," Hailey said dully. Sebastian's hand dropped from her face. It came as something of a surprise when she realized she was glad he wasn't touching her. She walked past him to her closet, wanting to have more than a towel between his hands and her body.

"Now, Hailey," Shaw's voice was terse, irritated, "I think you're overreacting."

"It wasn't exactly a fun experience, Sebastian!" Hailey tried to laugh derisively but her voice cracked and the laugh died in her throat.

"I didn't say it was. But I think you're under the impression that I hurt you for no reason."

Hailey said nothing, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

When Sebastian spoke again, she could tell he was right behind her. "Hailey, you know I'd never do anything to you unless I thought it could help you." His hands ghosted over her waist, slipping under her shirt and resting comfortable on her navel. "Now I've given you a home, a family, and lots of pretty things to play with." Pulling her back against him, kisses on her neck, teeth grazing her earlobe. She swallowed, wishing she didn't like the feeling he was giving her. "And, to me, it seems like you're being a little childish," Shaw continued in her ear, but his voice was so understanding, his body so warm against hers.

"I got scared," she said defensively, squirming against him.

"I know you did," he said agreeably, "but that's why I was brave for the both of us. And now we know, Hailey."

She let her head rest back against his shoulder, closed her eyes as one of his hands began to wander, cupping a breast. "Know what?"

"We're perfect together," he chuckled, his voice low, husky. "You can't die and I can't be killed."

* * *

His touch didn't thrill her the way it used to.

 _You can't die and I can't be killed._

That was what they were. A perfect little mutant couple, genetically right for each other. A match made in heaven. If only she could've been as blind as she had been before.

She wished she could've realized sooner. It was more a gradual thing than she would've liked to admit.

Sometimes he'd grip her too hard, or be too rough; he'd leave bite marks that were sunken and purple, so clear that she could've used them to count the teeth in his mouth. Sometimes she'd swear he was just doing it so he could watch the bruises clear away almost immediately. He would see it as mistakes being erased; it cancelled out hurting her. She didn't see it that way.

Sometimes she thought that he forgot it was only him who couldn't get hurt.

But he'd always give her a present if he knew he'd upset her. A new dress, jewellery, the best head of her life. He always asked her to forgive him but he'd never actually say sorry.

She was a glorified gift, he would say, a goddess, a princess, and that he was the luckiest man in the world to have her. The only thing Hailey could be thankful about was that he was still being surprisingly patient when it came to actual sex. She had been so nervous about it before but now she didn't think she could stomach it with him.

He didn't seem to understand that people weren't expendable. The idea that he wouldn't get his way was an idea he was completely unfamiliar with.

But when they'd lie in the sweat-stained dark, she'd make sure to hold onto him, to make sure he thought she'd rather die than let him go. It'd be easier to escape if he thought she'd never even dreamed of it.

* * *

It was harder to leave than she thought.

Not because anyone tried to force her to stay – no one knew she was leaving. It was just that in order to keep it that way, she had to avoid thinking about it. She doubted Emma would be listening to her thoughts – or at least, she hoped that – but just in case, she never really let herself think about it.

In the end, it had only really been chance that saved her.

Shaw had business at the Hellfire Club once again – Hailey never really wanted to know just _what_ business he had – and he'd reluctantly brought her along after some convincing in his study.

"I can handle myself," she'd stressed vehemently, nimbly climbing onto his lap and effectively distracting him from his work.

"This isn't practicing, Hailey," Shaw had reprimanded, but he only sounded amused. Honestly, Hailey thought he was probably pleased that she was being so affectionate with him.

"I don't like it when you're so far away," Hailey had whined, placing quick little kisses along his jaw line and down his neck. "And what if you meet another amazing girl with healing powers and telekinesis in Vegas and run off together? I don't think my poor heart could take it." He'd chuckled, deep and throaty, running his fingers through her hair, eventually giving in as her mouth travelled lower and lower.

And that was how she ended up back in the secret office, staring at that painting of the boat that her father had owned a copy of. Her father who wasn't really even her father.

That thought still seemed too much and so she pushed it away again, determined to ignore it until maybe, just maybe, one day she could process it.

Shaw and Emma were out the back with a man named Hendry. Emma still had no desire for Hailey to be part of their business, and Shaw hadn't exactly tried to resolve that.

And so Hailey sat there, knowing that every second she waited was a second wasted. She just had to get up and walk out. But where would she go? What was she meant to do with herself?

 _Home,_ she thought but something felt wrong about that idea, and Hailey felt nauseous all of a sudden. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it seemed like

( _blank eyes vacant dead on the floor_ )

going home was out of the question.

Well, of course she couldn't. Thomas Evans had attempted to pay Shaw to take her away. And even if she _did_ go home, what was to stop Shaw from looking for her there? Just thinking about it made the blood in her veins feel like ice.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of rotating booth. Only that didn't make sense: who else would be using that?

She ducked down behind the side of Shaw's desk, curious rather than worried. Someone might have just found it by accident; to be fair, all you had to do was press the interesting looking button in the middle of the table and _voila_.

Hailey peeked around the desk to see a young woman in black lingerie wandering around. For a second, she thought one of Shaw's servers must have gotten lost, until she saw that the young woman was taking pains to be quiet. She pulled back, unsure of whether to reveal herself or wait until she was found.

She listened as the young woman walked towards the desk, papers rustling as she examined the files that rested there. Taking her time, Hailey slowly slid around to the opposite side of the desk.

 _Come on Hailey, get out of here,_ she thought and nearly jumped as there was a loud thud in the next room and the door in the bookcase opened just a crack.

The young woman, completely unaware of Hailey's presence, walked towards it, intrigued. Hailey could hear voices: Shaw's, mainly. Then she heard a _crack_ and the young woman gasped. Hailey could only guess that she was seeing Azazel.

"Oh my God," the woman whispered, her hands slowly creeping towards her mouth. Hailey stood up soundlessly, crossing the room very quickly and putting her hand on the woman's shoulder.

The young woman turned around, brown eyes wide. Hailey clapped a hand over the woman's mouth, effectively muffling her cry.

"Shhh," Hailey whispered, taking care to shut the door as quietly as possible. She was afraid to look in there, almost certain that if she did, somehow Shaw would be looking back at her. "I'm not going to hurt you," Hailey breathed, "but you need to get out of here. Please don't scream, because the people in that room will hear you and they will not help you, okay?" She took her hand away.

"Am I crazy?" the other woman whispered.

Hailey shook her head, grabbing the woman's hand. "We're leaving," she stated.

"We?"

"Please," Hailey murmured. "You have to help me."

They both knew that the auburn-haired woman in the black lingerie, the woman whose name Hailey would learn was Moira MacTaggert, did not, in fact, have to help Hailey. But she did so all the same.

* * *

"Who the hell is this?" the man in the car asked as Hailey slid into the backseat, but she barely heard him. All she could think was that there, it was done. If Sebastian came outside and found her right now –

She ducked down across the seats, hiding herself as effectively as possible and realized she was absolutely terrified. She closed her eyes, hoping they'd leave soon.

 _Emma, please, please, please hate me enough that you won't help Sebastian find me. I'm leaving and I'm never coming back but please, please don't help him find me –_

Her chest was tight – it was hard to breathe and her heart seemed to be beating too fast –

"Moira, what is wrong with this kid –?"

 _Please oh my God please –_

( _dead Gabby dead Vi)_

Something was breaking – shattering glass –

 _Oh God oh God please can we just fucking leave let's just fucking LEAVE –_

"Jesus! Drive, drive!"

 _You can't die and I can't be killed we're perfect together Hailey –_

Darkness took her, thankfully.

* * *

"Okay," Moira said, holding out a cup of tea for her to take. "You wanna tell me how while you were having a panic attack, five completely stationery, empty cars managed to simultaneously blow out all their windows?"

Hailey was sitting on Moira's couch in her apartment, wrapped in a blanket with her hair still wet from her shower. She said nothing.

"You're one of them, aren't you," Moira murmured, and there was no question in her voice.

Hailey didn't respond, not sure of what to say. _If she tries to do some whack-job experiments on me,_ she thought irritably, _I'll throw her into a wall._

"Okay, how about we start with something easy? What's your name?" said Moira gently, placing Hailey's tea on the coffee table, an offer she could take when she was ready.

"I'm not trying to be difficult," Hailey said quietly.

"That's okay."

Hailey sized up the other woman. Who knew what Moira really wanted? Was she only helping Hailey to help herself?

"My name's Hailey."

"You know you can trust me."

 _Sure._ "Why were you spying on Sebastian Shaw?" she said suspiciously.

"I wasn't," Moira said. "I was spying on a man named Hendry."

Hailey frowned. "Ex-boyfriend?"

Moira grimaced. "No way in hell." She glanced down at the tea and back at Hailey. Something seemed to darken her expression. She picked up the mug and took a sip, looking pointedly at Hailey while she did it. "Not poisoned," she added, unnecessarily. "But I had a cold last week so..."

Hailey smiled faintly, taking the mug from Moira. "So why were you spying on this Hendry guy?"

"Because I'm a CIA officer," said Moira and Hailey choked on her tea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Charles Xavier," Moira murmured, pouring over a large stack of papers.

Hailey gave her a quizzical look as she handed Moira a bagel. "Elvis Presley. What game are we playing?"

They were sitting at Moira's kitchen table; a white, circular object that looked like it was from the future. It had been two days since Moira had picked Hailey up from the Hellfire Club, and for those two days the CIA officer had been working tirelessly to make sense of what she'd seen.

Moira glanced up, smiled a little at the offer of breakfast from Hailey, and took the bagel. Hailey didn't smile back, walking back to the kitchen bench where their tea was waiting.

"No game," Moira explained, looking a little crestfallen. "He's written a paper on genetic mutations and the evolution of humankind. It's all speculative, but it seems to be the gist of what we're dealing with."

Hailey shrugged, handing Moira her tea as she sat down to join her.

"Do you wanna talk about…?" Moira began.

"I'm really grateful for everything you've done, Moira," Hailey said quickly.

Moira steadied her gaze. "Look, I'm happy to help you out. But it's been two days, and I barely know anything about you. I mean, don't you have a family you wanna call?"

Hailey stared at her tea.

Moira sighed. "Got you good, didn't he?"

Hailey's eyes flashed. Had this been nearly six months ago, Moira's mug might have flown off the table and smashed into the wall. "What do you mean?" she said, her voice hard.

Moira took a bite of her bagel, chewed thoughtfully. "I can't find anything on this Shaw guy," she said after a moment. "No dirt, or at least nothing we could hold him to. Believe me, I'm trying."

Hailey stared at Moira, unsure of how to feel. On one hand, she was almost touched: Moira MacTaggert seemed strangely eager to help her. On the other hand, however, Moira was also just doing her job, and she knew that, obviously, Hailey was letting on more than she knew.

Hailey scowled. Moira just needed her for the information: no more, no less.

"If you know about anything, you could hold him to it," Moira said softly. "We could help each other. If he… did anything to you." _Did anything_ sounded curiously speculative. Hailey's stomach sank when she realized what Moira was referring to.

"I mean," Moira was still saying, although she sounded as if she rather wished she could change the subject, "if you're, say, a minor, or…"

"I'm eighteen," Hailey mumbled, refusing to look at the CIA officer. "I've been eighteen the whole time."

"Well," said Moira, relieved, "who knows, we may even be able to put him away or –"

"I don't want to put him away," said Hailey flatly. "He'd just get out again."

Moira frowned. "I know the justice system is flawed, but –"

"No, I mean, he could literally just get out again – did you or did you not see a teleporting red guy?"

Moira said nothing, merely gazed at Hailey as if she couldn't be sure what she was seeing.

"Look, I'm sorry," Hailey said. "I would love to help you. But if I'm being honest, I would prefer to never see Shaw _again_ , for as long as I live."

"You can't run from these kinds of people," Moira said firmly, her jaw set and Hailey was horribly reminded of Vi, pointing her chin upwards when she wanted to win an argument –

Hailey stood up. "Don't you _dare_ act like you're concerned for my wellbeing –"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Moira looked outraged.

"You think I don't see through this shit?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Moira said heatedly, getting properly angry for the first time, "is that your shtick? The whole world's on your back? You can't trust anyone?"

Hailey bunched up her fists. "Tell me, Moira, has your own _family_ ever paid someone to get rid of you?"

They stared at each other, brown eyes searching desperately for some hint of a lie in the green ones.

"I'm sorry," Moira said, after a moment.

"Don't be." Hailey sat back down, deflated.

"Is that why you can't go home?" Moira said, as though she was expecting another answer. Hailey looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah, Moira," she said warily. "That's why."

"There's no… other reason?"

Hailey stared at her. "Do I need another one?"

Moira stared back, unblinking. "Look," she said steadily, "this Xavier guy is at Oxford University – and I plan on meeting him. I'd like you to come with me – just to meet him, mind. You might wanna hear what he has to say. Once we've done that, if you still don't feel up to helping, you can leave."

"Isn't Oxford in London?" Hailey said, wondering just when the other woman had lost her mind.

"Yep, and that's a pretty good distance between you and Shaw, if you ask me," Moira said evenly.

Hailey sighed, her stomach sinking. "God save the Queen," she muttered.

* * *

" _That's_ Charles Xavier?" Hailey stared incredulously at the youth chugging beer out of a yard glass. Numerous students around him cheered, including a pretty blonde girl with a leather jacket that had caught Hailey's eye earlier. It was damn good looking jacket.

"What did you expect?" Moira murmured, although she too looked surprised.

"I don't know… an old guy. With less hair."

Moira arched an eyebrow. "Well, I guess we'll just have to work with what we have." She strode off towards Xavier, emitting a kind of confidence that Hailey almost envied. Though she'd probably be loath to admit it, she liked Moira too much to envy her. It was hard to hate a person like Moira MacTaggert. There was something about her that was just so… personable.

She also had to admit that Moira had definitely gone to a lot of trouble to get her here. The CIA officer had managed to procure a fake passport and ID for the mutant, aiding greatly in their travel, as Hailey had approximately zero documents to confirm her identity. The name on the passport and the license read _Hailey Gabrielle MacTaggert_. Their sisterly resemblance had been greatly improved when Moira had come home with her exact shade of auburn in a bottle.

 _Doesn't mean I have to stay,_ Hailey thought irritably, absently playing with her now auburn hair as she watched Moira successfully coerce Xavier into sitting with her – although to be fair, that probably hadn't taken much effort.

Moira was right about one thing: Hailey was definitely far from Shaw, who was hopefully under the impression that she hadn't left the continent.

Because really, in her financial state, how could she? Unless she'd been kidnapped or –

She wondered if he was worried about her. She hated to admit it, but part of her missed his attention.

 _That's right. His attention. Him? Not so much._

Hailey was so lost in her reverie that when somebody tripped and fell into her, she was so startled that the yard glass Xavier had previously been using flew straight up into the air and smashed against the ceiling. Students shrieked as they were showered with broken glass.

The person who fell onto her grasped her tightly, trying to steady their balance while the rest of the pub stared uncomprehendingly at the people brushing glass out of their hair, mumbling discontentedly.

Hailey noticed that one person wasn't looking in that direction. Charles Xavier seemed to be eyeing her curiously, two fingers pressed lightly against his temple.

 _(dead on the floor)_

 _(perfect for each other)_

 _(broken bodies vacant eyes)_

 _(move the book hailey)_

Hailey winced, her head starting to ache. Xavier looked away.

"Wet floor," said a girl's voice disgustedly and Hailey turned to the person who'd grabbed her. It was the blonde girl with the gorgeous leather jacket. "Thanks for catching me."

"I didn't do much," Hailey confessed, shrugging.

"You here by yourself?" the blonde girl asked casually.

Hailey shook her head. "No, I'm here with my sister." She nodded over to the table where Moira and Xavier were sitting.

The blonde girl nodded. "Huh. Well, your sister is talking to my brother." She smiled radiantly and Hailey blinked. "Do you want a soda?"

"Oh," Hailey said, glancing helplessly over at Moira. "Um…"

"Sure ya do," the blonde girl said easily, taking Hailey's hand and tugging her along to the bar, "because you're the only other girl not drinking in this place, and us girls gotta stick together."

Hailey blanched as the strange, friendly girl – who wouldn't let go of her hand – strode up to the bar counter and ordered two Coca Cola's.

"Raven."

The blonde glanced back at her brother, who looked quite stricken as he strode towards the two of them. "Get your coat, we have to go." He nodded at Hailey. "Hailey, I'm Charles Xavier, nice to meet you. Raven and I will be accompanying you and your… sister back to the States."

Hailey glared pointedly at Moira. "I'm not –"

 _Hailey, it's okay._

Hailey looked back at Xavier, intrigued. Had he spoken to her?

 _Well, yes and no… I am speaking to you, but only in your mind. We're like you, Hailey._

She clenched her jaw, unsure of what to say.

 _You can trust us, Hailey. We only want to help._

 _I've had help before. It didn't end well._

"No," Hailey said. "No, I'm not going back to the States." She turned to Moira. "You said, you _said_ I could stay here and –"

"Please excuse us," Moira said, pleasantly enough, as she put her hand on Hailey's shoulder and tugged her away, just as easily as Raven had done.

 _Hailey, Moira doesn't know._

She shook her head as Moira towed her into a corner, searching her coat pockets for something.

"You lied to me," Hailey said, shaking. "You told me I could stay _here_ , away from –"

"You need to see this." Moira pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I was checking to see if Shaw had put out a missing person's report on you –"

"What –?"

"He didn't, but somebody else did." Moira opened up the paper, smoothing it out on the wall. "There was a MPR for a Hailey Evans in Bangor, Maine, nearly six months ago –"

Hailey could barely speak she was so furious. "You looked me up?"

"What choice did I have, you weren't telling me anything! For all I knew, you could've still been working with Shaw!"

"All this crap about trust –"

"Let me finish," Moira said, and there was a pleading tone to her voice that made Hailey quieten. She handed Hailey the piece of paper. "This was taken from the _Bangor Daily,_ January 2nd, this year."

Hailey snatched the paper from her hand. "I don't know what you think you're –"

"Read it, Hailey."

Hailey huffed, but did as Moira said. Her stomach lurched at the headline.

 _ **EVANS FAMILY FOUND DEAD IN HOME**_

"No," Hailey said firmly, refusing to look any further as she handed the paper back to Moira. "No, this isn't real." The CIA officer simply looked at her.

"I don't believe this," Hailey reiterated. "You're trying to trick me."

"I wasn't the one who tricked you," Moira said softly, glancing back at the paper.

Hailey looked back at the paper, willing herself not to tremble as her eyes scanned the page, certain phrases leaping out at her.

 _Mr and Mrs Evans, along with two of their children, were found dead in their home –_

 _\- the insides of the house was in ruins –_

 _\- the windows shattered –_

 _\- youngest child, Hailey, 18, has been presumed missing by the police –_

"Hailey?" Moira said, worriedly. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I'm sorry for doing it like this –"

"Shaw did this?" Hailey's voice cracked. The bartender swore as a bottle of scotch flew off the shelf and shattered.

"Hailey –"

Guilt and rage swarmed her senses. Her legs gave out and Moira caught her, swearing. _He killed my family and I let him_ touch _me –_

Bottles and glasses exploded in people's hands – chairs tumbled around the room as if caught in a hurricane. People cried out, swore in shock, fell over to avoid the oncoming furniture.

 _Hailey –_

She could see her mother brushing her hair back from her forehead when she was sick, Gabrielle tipping her head back in laughter, Shaw holding her close and whispering in her ear that she was beautiful and the way her heart had _leapt_ Jesus she was disgusting –

 _Hailey it's not your fault –_

The breath Hailey let out sounded more like a sob. Moira grabbed her hands.

"Hailey –"

"I'm trying to stop," Hailey gasped. "I'm sorry –"

"Deep breaths," Moira ordered.

 _Count backwards from a hundred in sevens._

"What?"

 _Backwards from a hundred, but in sevens. It'll help, Hailey._

She focused on that, taking deep breaths. _Ninety-three… eighty-six… seventy-nine… seventy-two…_

The torrent of motion slowed to a halt, with people huddled on the floor or against walls. Hailey looked guiltily at Moira, whose eyes were surprisingly red.

"All right," Hailey said. "I'll help you. But I want him dead."

Moira nodded. "Then there's no time to lose."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"What a crazy freak earthquake that was," Raven said with an absolute lack of conviction, her eyes as wide as she could possibly make them, as they quickly trotted out to Moira's car.

Xavier shot her an unimpressed glance but Hailey found the corners of her mouth quirking upwards.

"Absolutely," Moira said, and, to her credit, she sounded more convincing than Raven. "We must've brought one with us from the States, huh Hailey?"

"Oh. Yeah," said Hailey bluntly, silently fuming. She hated that Xavier and Raven weren't telling Moira what they knew. It made Moira look like a fool, going along with this story that Hailey was her sister, and being the only one not in on the fact that Xavier – and probably Raven – were mutants too.

She climbed into the backseat, furiously avoiding any thoughts of Shaw. Her family –

But why didn't she _remember_ any of this happening? The newspaper article had said – at least, she thought it had said – that the – her stomach twisted – _bodies_ had been dead since New Year's Eve. Hailey couldn't remember anything of the sort, could clearly remember her…

She swallowed, ignoring the small talk Xavier and Moira were making. She could only clearly remember Shaw inviting her to holiday with him, leaving in a Rolls Royce with him, him looking at her like she was the brightest star in the sky – the other memories, such as her mother and sisters saying goodbye to her, were vague, almost off-putting. And then she'd been out of it for a few days, slipping in and out of reality…

A new thought occurred to her, one that made her heart stop. _Maybe the reason they're so vague is because they never happened._

Could a telepath plant new memories in one's head, and while simultaneously wiping others away?

Hailey swiped her hand roughly over her eyes. Raven, also in the backseat, either didn't see her silent tears or didn't say anything.

* * *

In her dream, she's just walked out of the Hellfire Club with Moira, is just reaching the car where she'll slip in the backseat, only moments away from having an awful panic attack that will blow out the glass on five cars. She knows this because it's happened before. But this time, just as her fingers reach out to grip the car door handle, she hears it.

"Hailey?"

As she turns around, her stomach dropping faster than a wheelbarrow full of lead, she sees Sebastian standing right behind her. He's smiling with his lips, but not with his eyes. "Where are you going?" Sebastian asks, starting to grin, as if he knows he's got her cornered.

Hailey tries to open the car door, but it sticks. She looks around and sees that no one else is moving. Moira's frozen mid-stride, eyes trained on the car. The people around them look elsewhere. No one can help her.

Hailey looks helplessly up at Shaw, unsure of what to do. "Sebastian," she begins tentatively, but his hand reaches out, lightning-fast, clamps around her throat and holds her against the car.

"You're not leaving me, are you, Hailey?" Sebastian asks, his voice still casual even as he practically crushes her windpipe. She gasps, desperate for air, hates herself for wishing he didn't look so disappointed –

She jerks her head, trying to shake it. "I would – _never_ –" she chokes out, terrified.

"Tell me why you'd never leave me, Hailey," Sebastian says. It's eerily similar to her lessons with him, where he'd instruct her to do some activity. He loosens his grip just enough so she can manage the next few words.

"Because I love you, Sebastian," Hailey gasps, on the verge of tears. But she won't cry, not in front of him. Hailey tells herself that it's because she's brave, but it's really because if she starts crying, he'll want to know what she's upset about, and in this state she won't be able to lie about it –

"Good girl," Sebastian says soothingly, finally releasing the crushing pressure on her throat and holding her against him, running his fingers softly through her hair. Hailey desperately tries to breathe in as much as possible, never wants to breathe out again in case it means losing air all over again.

"Now show me that you mean it," she hears him whisper, and the hand that's in her hair travels to the base of her skull and _grabs,_ roughlytugging her head back so she's face to face with him. She wastes no time, holding his face in her hands and kissing him desperately, even though her lungs scream for more air. He responds just as vigorously, roughly, letting his hands travel over her body as he presses her up against the car, slipping his thigh between her legs and letting her rub herself against him. With something like horror, she realizes just how aroused she is.

"Love you," she says hastily between kisses, and her voice breaks.

"Good," he replies, and she falls onto his bed, back at his house in Florida, her dress gone, ready for him. She closes her eyes, a wonderful ache in the pit of her stomach, wanting to feel him against her. She hears the click of a pistol, and her eyes snap open.

"Let's see if we can get an even two minutes," Sebastian says, standing at the foot of his bed and raising the gun –

* * *

Hailey snapped awake as Moira pulled up to a long building with a number of windows. She squinted. The day outside the car was grey and drizzly, and yet strangely overbright.

 _You can't think of him like that anymore, Hailey. Even in your nightmares._ Her hands curled into fists. He'd had her family killed, and she hated him for that, but she couldn't quite forget how blasé she'd been about the thought of leaving them behind forever.

 _You didn't know that meant death,_ she thought sourly.

"You okay?" Moira said.

Hailey nodded, closing her eyes and letting them adjust to the light. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I'm about to throw up," Moira said cheerfully. "I somehow have to convince my superiors that mutants are real, and dangerous."

"Want me to make a few things explode?" Hailey asked, unable to stop herself from smiling.

"If we need it," Moira said seriously. "But let's hope it doesn't come to that. Thanks for asking though, Hailey."

* * *

"So," Hailey muttered. "That went well."

The meeting had been somewhat of a disaster. First of all, not one member of the board had believed Charles once he'd finished his presentation on the possibility of mutant life. Hailey hadn't quite been able to look Moira in the eye once Charles admitted his mutation, but she saw the way that Moira's jaw had dropped in her peripherals. Charles, as an example of his telepathy, had brought up the apparently classified information of where a number of American missiles were being placed, and had managed to convince every important person in the room that he was a spy.

Attempting to rectify the situation, both Raven and Hailey had acted at the same time; Raven had stood up and changed her shape into that of a man Charles had called Stryker, while Hailey had easily lifted the water out of the clear glasses and jugs that adorned the table, letting it hover a good three feet above their heads.

And now, because they were apparently threats, they were being escorted to approximately God knew where. This place seemed to be endless white corridors.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Charles will get us out of it. He always does."

"Oh yeah. He seems to really know how to make the situation better."

"Don't doubt my brother," Raven said, flashing Hailey a quick glare.

Hailey quietened, realizing she'd crossed a line. After a moment, she said the other thing that had been on her mind. "I didn't know you could change like that. It's totally awesome."

Raven glanced at her again, this time looking a little gratified rather than irritated.

"Have you ever fucked with anyone, doing that?" Hailey asked, interested.

Raven smirked, but didn't elaborate.

Charles and the man in the black suit led them out to a car park, still chatting enthusiastically. They're probably best friends now, Hailey thought sourly. Although the man in the black suit didn't _seem_ particularly threatening.

 _Yeah? Neither did Shaw._

 _That's quite enough of that, Hailey,_ said another voice in her head and she jumped. _It's not going to be an easy road for you if you can't trust anyone._

Hailey looked over at Charles, but he was still talking animatedly to the man in the black suit.

 _So, you're well acquainted with this Sebastian Shaw character, I assume?_

 _Can't you just skim my brain and see?_ Hailey thought wryly.

 _Well, I could, but that's not really a polite thing to do, is it?_ Charles' voice, almost surprised, echoed through her thoughts.

"You're gonna love my facility," she heard the man in the black suit say, and her skin crawled. What would he do to them there? Experiment on them?

"That's going to have to wait," Charles said firmly, and Raven shot Hailey a look as if to say _I told you so._

"Why?" the man in the black suit asked, still strolling along with them.

"Because Agent MacTaggert has a lead on Sebastian Shaw," Charles said conversationally, "and apparently, if we don't leave now, we're going to lose him."

Hailey's jaw dropped open, although no one else noticed. How did Moira have a lead on Shaw? When had this happened? Why hadn't she mentioned it to Hailey?

A black car screeched to a halt in front of them. Moira was in the driver's seat, looking expectantly at the four of them.

The man in the black suit looked stunned. "What?"

Hailey glanced at Raven, but she didn't even look surprised. "Not only can he read minds," the blonde supplied, opening the back door and shuffling inside, "he can communicate with them as well."

"Moira and I have just had a lovely conversation," Charles said pleasantly.

"Yes, we did," Moira said evenly, as Hailey followed suit and climbed into the backseat with Raven, silently fuming. How could Moira keep information like this from her? Then again, she recalled guiltily, she could have let Moira know that Charles and Raven were mutants…

 _No,_ she thought irritably, _this is a lot bigger than that. Moira knows where Shaw is and –_

Her heart skipped a beat.

 _And we're going straight to him._

"Do you want to see another magic trick?" Charles asked the man in the black suit.

"Sure –"

"Get in the car," Charles ordered.

"Good idea!" the man in the black suit said easily, slipping in next to Hailey, who was still very much concerned about Sebastian Shaw.

But that was good. Because they'd find him and then – and then what? Hailey frowned. What if they tried to arrest him? They wouldn't stand a chance. And they couldn't exactly shoot him, or even knock him out for God's sake – his mutation wouldn't allow it. But surely Moira knew that –

Hailey bit her lip. Had she told Moira that Shaw was a mutant? Probably not.

 _Oh my God, this is not going to work._

A small crack, thin and spindly, appeared in the backseat window next to Raven, who muttered, "What the hell?"

"We can't do this," Hailey said suddenly, even though Moira hadn't even driven out of the parking lot yet.

"What?" Moira asked, glancing in the rear-view mirror. "Why?"

Hailey didn't look at Moira, wishing the CIA agent had given her a little heads up on Shaw's whereabouts.

 _Hailey, what's wrong?_ Charles voice sounded so alien inside her own head.

 _I'm fine,_ Hailey thought harshly, trying to ignore how fast her heart was beating – Christ, even when she hated Shaw, he still made her heart rate pick up –

 _You're not,_ Charles replied. _You're panicking._

 _So calm me down!_

"Hailey," Moira said worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hailey lied. "It's just – I don't think we're prepared for this –"

"We'll be fine," Moira said as soothingly as she could. "We won't just go in by ourselves, we'll –"

"It doesn't matter how many people you bring," Hailey said wildly and the crack in Raven's window grew bigger. "You can't kill him, Moira!"

"I thought you _wanted_ him dead," Moira responded bemusedly, still intent on driving. Why wasn't she understanding –?

A flash of a memory crossed her mind – Shaw making her move the book, Shaw kissing her in the study, Shaw holding the gun to her head –

Charles winced in the front seat. "That's not what she meant," he murmured, before turning to Moira. "Stop the car."

Hailey, suddenly convinced that Charles thought she was weak, focused hard on the brake pedal.

"I – I can't," Moira said, a note of panic creeping into her voice. "It won't move –"

"You don't have to," Hailey said forcefully. "I'm fine, you're –"

"Hailey, you're a powerful mutant and if you panic, you could really hurt someone," Charles said hastily.

"I can't brake!" Moira said.

"Charles," Raven said warily, and Hailey knew that the shape-shifter was wondering how her brother would get out of this one.

"I'm not panicking!" Hailey said firmly, very aware that she was panicking. Something furious was sparking inside her. "I'm fine, I'm not going to do anything! But you're not listening to me –"

She saw Charles put two fingers to his temple. "Go to sleep, Hailey."

* * *

When she woke, she could hear the ocean. She sat up, suddenly convinced that she was back on the _Caspartina –_

Moira was there, crouched next to the booth that Hailey had been sleeping in. She put her hand on Hailey's knee. "How are you feeling?"

Hailey pulled away, standing up and walking to the doorway. "Where's Shaw?" she asked gruffly, poking her head into an empty corridor.

Moira shook her head, standing as well. "We got here too late. Coast Guard," she added, but Hailey still didn't really understand. "Did you know about the telepath?"

Hailey stared at her in confusion. Of course she knew about Charles! He'd only forced her into unconsciousness while –

It clicked.

Hailey nodded. "Emma. I'm sorry. Did he hurt anyone?"

"Shaw?" Moira asked. "No, no – we never made contact." She cleared her throat. "Charles said… that he saw some things, in your head. About Shaw. And his methods of teaching you how to use your powers."

Hailey didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I had a lead on Shaw," Moira said quietly. "I thought that if I told you about it, you'd run off without us."

Hailey shrugged, feeling positively useless. "I never knew exact addresses – we'd always just teleport –"

"I'm not saying –"

"I'm sorry," Hailey said quickly, trying to ignore the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry that I freaked out. I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything. I – everything's just –" She put her head in her hands. "You've done so much for me but I can't seem to – he did the same thing, you see, and I –"

"It's okay," Moira said, putting her hand tentatively on Hailey's shoulder, as if she expected Hailey to move it away. Hailey didn't. And so they stood, completely silent, but not uncomfortably so.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The next week and a half definitely had its up and downs.

After they'd picked up Erik – a mutant that not only knew Shaw but had nearly killed himself in an effort to capture Shaw (Hailey had already quietly decided that, no matter how dour and antisocial he was, she liked Erik) – they'd carried on to the protected secret facility that the man in the black suit was so eager for them to see.

And it was there that they'd met Hank, another mutant and an absolutely adorable dork of a boy.

Moira and Charles had agreed not to tell any of the others just how deeply Hailey's relationship with Sebastian Shaw had run, but in return, Hailey had to spend an hour each day with Charles – or at least, each day that he was actually at the facility, and not off finding other mutants after using Cerebro. During this time, she would be attempting to meditate and calm her mind. While she wasn't actually sure if she ever felt calmer, she felt that she owed it Charles to at least try. The extent of what she could do if she wasn't careful was starting to become painfully clear – the next time she panicked, it might not be a car that she imploded; it might be someone's skull.

* * *

"Is it because I'm weak?" Hailey asked.

"Absolutely not," said Charles, shaking his head. "It has nothing to do with strength or lack thereof, Hailey."

In their sessions together, Hailey had noticed that, unlike Shaw, Charles would focus on her and only her. He was never distracted by other work, and she was never vying for his attention. She wondered if Shaw had always kept himself busy in order for her to want his attention more – it wouldn't surprise her in the slightest.

"Then why can't I control it?" she asked dully.

"Perhaps because you're afraid of it," Charles supplied.

"But I'm afraid of it _because_ I can't control it," Hailey said, confused. Charles gave her a rather knowing look, but Hailey didn't see the matter become any clearer. Was she stupid? Maybe Emma had really tampered around in there.

"It's like I can't trust my own brain," she grumbled.

During these sessions, Charles had done her the most bittersweet favour of her life; he'd removed the false memories that Emma had planted in her head and had slowly, slowly, brought forth a memory that had been nagging at the edge of her mind for a long time.

They'd been granted a room to themselves, thankfully, just the pair of them, sitting on an antique sofa. Hailey had choked out a gasp, her eyes squeezed shut as the tears leaked down her cheeks. She could see them all, lying on the floor, their lives cut short by the first person to ever call her perfect. When she'd opened her eyes, she'd been surprised to see that Charles was silently crying too, his hands holding hers. He'd squeezed her fingers – and Hailey had felt something in her heart give in, trying to ignore the sense of dread that came with it. She trusted Charles, just like she trusted Moira. Worse than that, she cared about them now.

Just like she cared about Raven.

To her surprise, after her mini freak out that had ended in Charles sending her to sleep, Raven had been really nice to her.

"But do you think she's being polite nice?" Hailey had asked Moira one day, as the pair of them sat in an almost empty cafeteria-style room, drinking sub-par coffee. "Or do you think she's being, like, actually nice?"

Moira had looked so amused that Hailey had quickly changed the subject.

Nevertheless, Raven was a nice friend to gain.

"So, _this_ is your natural colour?" she asked, standing in front of the mirror in her assigned room and changing her hair to the dishwater brown that Hailey was starting to miss.

"I wish I had your power," Hailey stressed. "You could give yourself brown eyes or freckles or bright blue hair. I bet you've never had a zit, like, ever in your life." _And you wouldn't have to worry about, say, I don't know, maybe blowing up a street if you have an anxiety attack,_ she added mentally, sure that Raven would be none-too-happy with that additional information.

"Why would anyone want bright blue hair?" Raven asked dully, changing her hair back to blonde. "That's not a particularly normal colour."

"Blue's my favourite colour." Hailey looked at her, long and hard. "You're not as weird as you think you are," she said offhandedly.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Thanks for those comforting words, Hailey."

"No, I mean it," Hailey said, sitting down on the plain white bed. "I mean, you're pretty weird, but not like awful weird. You're a good kind of weird."

Without further ado, Raven picked up her pillow and attempted to smother Hailey with it.

* * *

Charles and Erik had found others.

Pretty soon, Hailey thought, they'd be able to start their own ragtag band of mutants. _I'll finally be able to use my mediocre piano skills for something,_ she thought, and a stab of guilt rang through her abdomen: her mother had always wanted her to learn piano.

She didn't really know them all that well – apart from Raven and Hank, who she trusted – but Moira was always encouraging her to talk to them, and it wasn't really like she had anything better to do; so that was how Hailey ended up spending her Saturday night squashed on a black leather couch besides Raven, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone and playing with her nails.

"So, I think," Raven said, as the lot of them sat around the games room (which was pretty rockin', if Hailey had to admit it), "that we should have codenames."

"Like secret agents?" the boy with the curly red hair – _Sean_ – said, looking intrigued.

"Totally," Raven enthused, snuggling up a little closer to Hank on the couch. Hailey rolled her eyes. "I wanna take Mystique."

"Aw damn," Sean sighed, " _I_ wanted to be Mystique."

Hailey blinked and suddenly there was a Sean on the couch next to her, and a Sean across the room, looking stunned.

"Well tough, I called it," Raven/Sean said. "And I'm _way_ more mysterious than you." The room was filled with applause for Raven's power as she transformed back; Hailey couldn't help but grin as she grabbed some chips from the little white coffee table.

"Darwin, what about you?" Raven asked, picking up her Coke bottle to take a victory swig.

"Well," said Darwin, "Darwin's already a nickname. Kinda fitting, y'know, adapt to survive and all." He stood up, grinning mysteriously. "Check this out –"

Hailey watched with interest as Darwin sauntered over to the fish tank, winked at the group, then stuck his head in the water. Within half a second, gills sprouted on the side of his face.

With another whoop of surprise, the others burst into applause, Hailey joining them vehemently this time.

"Thank you, thank you," Darwin said after he stood back up straight, the gills immediately gone. "What about you, Sean?"

"Hmmm," said Sean thoughtfully, drawing out the sound like a long noodle. "I wanna be… Banshee."

"Why would you wanna be named after a wailing spirit?" Hank asked, frowning.

Without really thinking about it, Hailey covered her ears.

Sean laughed, raising his Coke to her. "You guys should probably follow Hailey's lead."

The others did the same, whilst Hailey felt a strange little pang of happiness that Sean had bothered to remember her name. She looked around at them. _Everyone here probably felt just as weird as you did,_ she reminded herself, willing herself to relax.

She was brutally snapped out of this reverie as Sean crouched down by the coffee table, sucked in a breath, flashed her a little grin and let out a sound that sounded almost like a whistle –

One of the huge glass windows – the one that stood between them and the courtyard – shattered.

Hailey let out a surprised laugh, as did Raven and Darwin.

"Your turn," Sean said, pointing at Angel.

"Well," she said, standing up and smiling shyly, "my stage name was Angel…" She pulled off her jacket, revealing tattooed insect wings across her back and shoulders that suddenly rose up from her _skin_ and became corporeal. "Kinda fits," Angel said blithely, fluttering a few inches above the floor.

"You can _fly?_ " Raven exclaimed in envy.

"Yeah," Angel said easily. "Oh, and, um –" She dropped back to the ground, and _spat_ a scorching gob across the room, out into the courtyard, and onto the head of a bronze statue.

"What about you?" Angel directed at Hank, putting her leather jacket back on.

Hailey felt rather than saw Hank tense up.

"What about Bigfoot?" the blond boy in the chair next to her – Alex – remarked.

Hailey glared at him, as Raven said coolly, "Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet…"

"And yours look _kinda_ small," Hailey said offhandedly. Alex cocked an eyebrow at her, taking a swig of his drink, but Hailey kept on glaring.

"Okay now," Darwin said, ignoring Sean's guffaw of laughter. "Hailey, what about you, what's your secret agent name?"

Hailey swallowed. "I was thinking… maybe Headcase?" she said, smiling apologetically at Raven.

"Sounds interesting," Alex said, rolling his eyes.

"And misleading," Raven laughed. She winked at Hailey. "Show 'em."

Hailey didn't have to think too hard about it; it took a second, and then the black leather chairs and couches were floating five feet above the floor.

Angel and Darwin whooped with excitement; Sean let out a yell and fell off; Alex dropped his Coke all over the floor; and Hank grabbed Raven's hand in shock.

"You can _move_ stuff?" Sean cried, scrambling to his feet. "With your _brain?_ Awesome!"

"It's all right," Hailey said modestly.

"Can we go back to the floor, now?" Alex said, barely moving his lips, holding tightly onto his chair.

Hailey couldn't help but smile as she brought the furniture back to its rightful place. She sent the chips bowl over to Sean as an apology. "All right, Alex, what can you do?" she asked, glancing over at the blond.

She half expected him to stand up and brag about whatever his power was – but to her surprise, he seemed to sink into his chair, and look embarrassed.

"I, uh, I can't do it in here," he muttered.

"Can you do it out there?" Darwin asked, pointing to the courtyard.

"Why don't you just do it out there?" Hailey asked.

"Yeah, do it out there," Raven added.

"Alex, Alex, Alex," they all chanted, steadily getting louder and more annoying – "ALEX, ALEX, ALEX" – until –

Alex sighed, stood up and walked over to the now completely empty window. He stepped through it, saying, "Get down when I tell you," over his shoulder.

"Oooh," said Raven under her breath as the lot of them huddled near the huge hole in the wall, peering out at Alex.

"Get back," he reminded them.

Everyone appeared to heed his decision, before peering back out again.

"Get _back_ ," Alex stressed.

Nobody moved.

"Whatever," Alex muttered, ignoring them, and suddenly –

It was as though he was pulling huge, white-red rings of light from his body – but they had weight, and power, and he slung them across the courtyard to the statue that Angel's spit still sizzled on –

One of the rings cleft the statue in two.

"Holy _shit!_ " Hailey cried. She wasn't the only one.

"That was insane!" Sean shouted.

"Havoc!" Raven yelled. "Your name should be Havoc!"

"Havoc, Havoc, Havoc," Hailey started chanting, and so the rest of them continued until Alex finally smiled sheepishly at the lot of them.

* * *

Hailey could hardly remember the last time she had this much fun; soon, Raven changed the song on the jukebox and pulled her up onto the couch, where the pair of them started dancing. She couldn't stop _smiling –_ finally, she thought as she watched Hank swing from the chandelier, and the boys try to hit Darwin while he wore some kind of scaly, rock-hard skin – _finally_ , this felt like something she was really part of, with people her own age who could –

" _What_ are you _doing?!"_ came a yell from by the broken window, and Hailey whirled around in shock to see Moira, Charles and Erik staring at them. Moira looked absolutely furious; Hailey half-wanted to hide behind the couch.

"Who destroyed the statue?" Moira demanded, hands on her hips, glaring at all of them. Her eyes rested on Hailey, who guiltily looked away. So much for feeling right.

"Alex did," came a quiet voice, and everyone turned to see Hank staring at the ground.

"Wait, no, we have to call him Havoc," Raven said, still perky, and Hailey frowned at her as the blonde climbed down off the couch and pointed enthusiastically at Charles, "and we were thinking _you_ should be Professor X, and _you_ ," she pointed at Erik, "should be Magneto!"

Hailey glanced back at Moira, and felt even worse when she saw the look of anger mingled with disappointment on Moira's face.

"Exceptional," Erik said sarcastically, turning and striding away. Moira followed him soon after, throwing another exasperated look at Hailey.

"We were just –"

"I expect more from you," Charles said, staring hard at Raven. Hailey saw her shoulders slump as the telepath turned and walked after Moira and Erik.

* * *

"I don't believe this!" Hailey whined. "How could you go without me?"

"Seriously, Hailey?" Moira said distastefully, her heels clacking angrily down the hallway as Hailey trailed after her. "After everything I've seen?"

"Last night was just a one-off," Hailey insisted, wishing Moira would give her so much as a glance. "Honest, we were just letting off a little steam – I said I was sorry –"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Moira said angrily, finally turning to face her.

Hailey blanched. "Well, then what –?"

"Can you honestly tell me that you can control your emotions when it comes to Shaw?" Moira demanded. "That you won't jeopardize the whole mission?"

Hailey stared, taken aback, wishing she hadn't felt the flicker of panic stir within her brain. "I've been working with Charles –"

"You can't come, Hailey," Moira said firmly, checking her watch. "You're not ready, and that's nothing to be ashamed of."

 _Well, the way you're talking about makes it sound like I should be._

"I'm sorry, but I can't wait for you," Moira said, turning to leave. "The mission is to apprehend Shaw, and I can't help if you're –"

"You don't sound very sorry," Hailey said acidly, trying to ignore the betrayal that was bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh, do me a favour and grow up," Moira said sharply. "Now, I have to go, I'm gonna be late –"

"Whatever," Hailey muttered, turning to leave. "Have fun cozying up with Charles –"

"Try not to destroy anything else while I'm gone!" Moira cried after her.

"I can't make any promises!" Hailey yelled back, starting to run.

* * *

Her bad mood had lasted for a lot longer than she'd anticipated. Even now, she knew she was being stupid – rather than sit with the others, or even try to interact _at all_ , all she could do was sit at one of the little white tables, re-reading _To Kill A Mockingbird_ and drinking her fifth cup of tea.

It seemed obvious to her now that Moira had only needed her because Moira had thought she might be a lead to Shaw. However, now that Moira knew the truth… and now that she had other people to believe her, other people to help her get Shaw…

She found herself reading the same sentence over and over again, but she couldn't absorb any of the words. Now she was stuck here. At least with Sebastian…

 _Don't miss him, Hailey, don't you dare fucking miss him, you idiot –_

"You okay, Spaz-Attack?"

Hailey scowled up at Alex, who was taking turns to play Darwin on the _Funland_ pinball machine.

"It was Spaz-Attack, right?" Alex asked.

"Alex," Darwin said warningly, but not looking away from the pinball machine.

"Or Basket Case?" Alex continued.

"Go break another statue," Hailey said coldly, looking back at her book as Darwin yelled in disappointment.

"Dammit! All right, you're up, Summers." Darwin turned back to Hailey, pulling a chair up and sitting down at the little table with her, speaking in a low comforting voice. "Don't mind him, he just feels like an asshole –"

"No surprises there," Hailey murmured.

"Because he sliced a monument in half," Darwin finished, looking a little amused. "What's going on, Ace? Is it your sister?"

Hailey stared at her book.

"I know it's tough," Darwin said quietly. "But you're lucky you still get to see your family after – after they found out."

The pages in front of Hailey began to blur; her eyes were filling with tears. _But I won't get to see them,_ she thought.

"Hey, Darwin!" Alex whooped. "I'm kicking your ass here!"

"All we've got is each other," Darwin said, putting a comforting hand on her forearm and giving it a little squeeze. "You can talk to any of us, if you're having problems, okay?"

Hailey looked up – maybe to say _thank you_ or something like that, but at that moment, a gravelly voice cried, "Oh, I didn't know the circus was in town!"

Hailey's head swivelled towards the newly replaced window. Two men in suits were making jabs at Angel. Hailey considered throwing them across the courtyard, but then Hank stood up, pressing a button that closed a large green curtain.

"They're just guys being stupid," Raven said firmly.

"No, _guys being stupid_ I can handle," Angel said stoutly, "but these guys – the way they stare at me –"

"At us," Raven said softly. Angel looked away, shaking her head.

Hank glanced over at Hailey, who smiled reassuringly… until she heard the sound. It was distant, but… it sounded like a crash…

"What was that?" Darwin asked, letting go of Hailey's arm and striding over to the button Hank had pressed moments earlier, opening the curtain. Hailey followed him to the window, looking out to see –

"What _is_ that?" Darwin asked, pointing up towards the sky. Hailey squinted and saw what looked like two human figures dangling in mid air, illuminated by the glowing white orb that was the moon. Her stomach dropped as one of the figures disappeared in a flash of flames and smoke, while the other hurtled, screaming, towards the ground –

He landed just on the other side of the wide window, and Hailey covered her eyes. This did nothing to block out the sickening _crunch_ of bone, or the screams of Raven and Angel.

"What _was_ that?" Sean demanded. "Some kind of – of demon?!"

More bodies dropped from the sky. Hailey's blood ran cold as the "demon" appeared for a flashing moment, clutching another agent and disappearing again. "Oh, my God," she murmured, stepping away from the glass.

The others, interpreting that her horror was akin their own, paid her no mind, unaware that Hailey's feeling ran deeper than being frightened of a red-skinned devil. Her chest felt tight and she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

"He's here," Hailey said through numb lips, desperately looking around the room for somewhere to go. "We have to leave."

Alex looked at her questioningly. "What?"

"We have to get out of here," Hailey croaked, her voice a little louder, but the others ignored her, lost in their own panic as the bodies began to fall from the sky. Her heart was racing, she felt nauseous and the items around the room were starting to shake.

 _Oh, God, oh, God, he's found me, he's HERE –_

Part of her was ashamed that she couldn't keep it together, that she couldn't be brave. He'd killed her family and he'd tricked her, lied to her, over and over again. But all of instincts were screaming at her to flee, to run, to hide –

Men in suits were gathering in front of the wide window, holding guns, yelling for them to get down, to stay here –

Azazel burst into the scene, hovering just above the empty place where the statue Alex had destroyed once stood.

Hailey turned away, desperate not to be seen, her panic increasing as the others continued to freak out. Gun shots – too loud, too close – glass shattering – was that her, or had it been something else –

Somebody had their arms around her shoulders, pulling her away from the window, to the jukebox –

Hailey peered out of the huddle. Azazel was making short work of the men out there – her stomach lurched –

"Stay here my ass!" cried Darwin. "Let's get out of here!"

Hailey pushed along as they ran into the hallway, but the guards out there pushed them back. "We can help!" she heard someone yell, but then there was a burst of orange, and _God, was that an explosion –?_

Hailey grabbed at Raven's wrist, tugging her back towards the games room, the only place left to go –

The glass window on the other side of the room exploded; Janus was here.

Raven and the others huddled together, desperate, panicking at gunshots – _won't do much,_ she thought – out in the hallway. Hailey, sick and nearly paralysed with terror, did the first thing she could think of; she quietly slipped behind the semi-circular bar and hid.

Almost immediately, she felt horrified. _Get up, help the others,_ she told herself, but she couldn't move. It was taking everything in her to keep it inside, to not make anything in the room rattle, to refrain from breaking anything, to refrain from ripping the whole structure off its –

Jesus, _could_ she even _do that?_

Then she heard the pleas of the men outside their room, heard the awful sickening crack of bones breaking, heard the door open, heard the footsteps and then –

"Where's the telepath?"

"Not here," Azazel replied stonily.

"Too bad. Well, at least I can take this silly thing off," Shaw said, and Hailey's insides crawled. His tone was exactly the same it had been when she'd first met him: friendly, inclusive, charming. She felt another wave of nausea as she realised that part of her still _wanted_ to please him, still wanted to be the centre of his attention, still wanted to be his perfect little Hailey –

 _Fuck that,_ she thought, nonplussed. _I'm not that kind of person anymore!_ And then she remembered that she was still hiding, and cursed herself.

"Good evening. My name's Sebastian Shaw. And I am _not_ here to hurt you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 _Just stand up,_ Hailey told herself, still hiding behind the fucking bar because apparently she was that brave. _Just stand up and he'll take you, and leave the others alone. No one will get hurt. It'd be the brave thing to do._

She was trembling, on edge, waiting for him to ask where Hailey was… waiting for the others to surmise that once he'd got what he wanted he'd leave them alone…

But her legs wouldn't move. Her whole body felt like it had pins and needles. How angry would he be when he found her? Did he know that she'd run away or did he think that she'd been kidnapped by the CIA?

 _Oh, God,_ she thought, _has he found Moira?_

She took deep breaths, as quietly as possible. _Focus, Hailey. Listen. The second he says your name, you stand up and you –_

But Sebastian didn't seem to be talking about her – he was talking to the others.

 _You left them out there, you shameless little –_

He was talking to them about a revolution… and how they could join him or… be against him…

Hailey didn't dare quite breathe. Was it possible… _was it even possible_ that he didn't know she was here? That this was just some massive coincidence that he was… recruiting here?

Her stomach squirmed, on edge. _Help them,_ she thought. _Stand up and help them!_

"Angel," she heard Raven say, only she sounded surprised, disappointed – _oh God, no, Angel, don't go with him – Hailey, stand up, go with him instead of her –_

But she couldn't move. She couldn't stand – not when she had a chance of not having to go with him –

"Come on, we don't belong here," she heard Angel say pleadingly.

 _You can't just let Angel go with him! He'll screw her up, just like he screwed you up –_

But another part of her – a stupid, stupid part – was bitterly wondering just how long it would take for Angel to take her place –

 _Are you fucking kidding me right now, Hailey?!_

There was a sound like a glass shattering – as if a mug had fallen – or perhaps flown off a table.

The silence in the room was possibly the worst thing she'd ever encountered. Hailey put her hand over her mouth, willing herself not to breathe.

"Are there any other mutants here?" Shaw asked, after a moment and Hailey squeezed her eyes shut.

No one said anything. Hailey couldn't blame them. She heard footsteps, slowly walking closer and closer, and oh Jesus she had to cough –

"Hailey?" Shaw's tone was soft, almost soothing, and she shoved her left knuckles into her mouth so she could bite down on something, not break a chair, not break the silence, not break, not break, not break –

"Sorry, just us," Raven said, sounded disgusted. "Disappointed with the lack of recruits?"

Hailey's stomach flipped – _Raven no –_ but Shaw just chuckled. He was walking away now – everything was okay…

"I'm coming too!" she heard Darwin pipe up, and her stomach constricted almost violently.

What the hell was going on? Hailey desperately wished that she had telepathy so that she could communicate with the others, tell them not to go with Shaw, that he was a monster –

The bottles above the bar began to shudder. _No, no, stop –_

"ALEX!" she heard Darwin yell, and she froze.

"GET DOWN!" Alex shouted, and _oh, no, Alex, he can –_

She was biting down on her hand so hard she could taste copper.

"Protecting your fellow mutants," she heard Shaw say, and she could hear the smugness in his voice. "A noble gesture. Feels good."

She couldn't breathe. Jesus, she couldn't breathe at all, what was happening to them?

"Adapt to this," she heard Shaw command, but it didn't matter, none of it mattered, _keep it together Hailey, don't you dare let him know you're here –_

There was the sound of Azazel teleporting away, and Hailey sprung to her feet, ready to run, ready to scream, ready to burst all the fucking objects she could find –

And then she saw Darwin, standing by himself, out in the courtyard. Alex was in front of her, watching him, but she couldn't see his face.

Darwin's body was shifting states as something white hot and molten appeared to be erupting underneath his skin – he was metal – then he was rock – and then he turned to face them, raising his hand towards Alex –

Hailey then watched as Darwin exploded in a burst of red light and charcoal.

She turned around and threw up noisily behind the bar. Wiping her hand across her mouth, she righted herself, clumsily pulling herself over the bar to where Alex was still standing, unmoving.

She reached out a shaky hand to place on his shoulder.

"Alex –"

His head barely turned towards her; she could see the horror in his eyes. Her heart constricted.

"It's not your fa –"

" _Don't_ ," Alex said.

"Where the hell did you go?"

Hailey dropped her hand as Raven stormed back into the room, looking furious, Hank and Sean trailing behind her.

"I –"

"You know him!" Raven cried. "He came here looking for you!"

"I'm sorry," Hailey said desperately, simply because she didn't know what else to say. "I – Moira said he was meant to be in Russia, that's why they –"

 _Moira._

Had to find Moira. Had to make sure Moira was okay.

But her stomach was whirling – what was she meant to do –

"Where's Darwin?" Sean asked, looking around. His eyes went wide. "That guy – he didn't take Darwin, did he?"

Alex swallowed, staring hard at the floor. "Darwin's…"

"No," said Raven, shaking her head. "No, he can't –" She turned to Hailey. "Because of Shaw?"

"No," Alex said at the exact time Hailey said, "Yes."

Raven's eyes, red and accusing, glared at her.

"You left us," Raven said.

"You don't understand," Hailey said quietly.

"That's as bad as Angel," Raven said disparagingly, grabbing Hank's hand and striding past them, out into the courtyard. "We have to contact Charles," she called back over her shoulder. "Stay here."

* * *

They waited in silence, or at least it was silence with Hailey. The others didn't seem to want to talk to her. Shock horror.

Everyone in the compound, apart from the five of them, had been either dead or on the way there. It was in total ruin – Shaw must've had a lot of power to spare. Raven and Hank had gotten hold of Charles, who was apparently on his way, but apart from that, Hailey knew next to nothing. All she could do was sit there, her arms wrapped around her body, trying not to think but finding herself horribly unable to.

 _At least I didn't go with him…_

 _Probably the one time you should've stepped up and gone with him. Now he's got Angel, and Darwin's…_

 _That wasn't my fault!_

 _I could've told them…_

 _He didn't find me…_

 _Did I want him to?_

Hailey swallowed down the bile that had suddenly risen in her throat.

 _Just think about it, Hailey._

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes. Going with him certainly seemed more unappealing than not going with him, no matter how uncertain she was about the matter. That made her feel a little better. And then she remembered that no one was talking to her.

She glanced over at Alex, who was sitting by himself, gruffly ignoring everyone, scowling at his boots. She'd tried to say something to him – about Darwin, about Shaw –

" _Alex." Raven and Hank had already run off, and now it was just her, Alex and Sean, standing there, staring at nothing. "I know you're probably blaming –"_

" _Is this the part where you tell me it's okay?" Alex cut across her, not even looking at her. "That we're all in this together? Sounds like something Darwin would've said."_

 _Hailey stared. "I'm just trying to help –"_

" _Then stop," Alex snapped._

A car pulled up amongst the federal vehicles; out slid Charles, Erik and – her heart jumped – Moira –

Raven ran forward to wrap her arms around Charles, but Hailey forced herself to stay seated, suddenly sure that Raven would have told Moira what she'd done, that she'd be mad, that she'd be disappointed –

Moira's wide eyes jumped frantically from Raven, to Hank, Sean, Alex – and then they landed on Hailey. Moira put a hand over mouth, and Hailey saw something in her eyes that wasn't anger or disappointment: relief.

Hailey jumped to her feet and then – she didn't quite know how it happened – she was desperately trying not to cry as she hugged the CIA agent. "I was so worried about you –"

"Jesus, Hailey," Moira gave a shaky laugh. "You were worried about _me_?"

"I thought he'd –" Hailey shut her eyes, forcing herself not to cry. Her fists bunched in Moira's jacket. "I thuh-thought he found yuh-you and then was coming for us –"

"Hailey," said another voice, and she pulled back to see Charles' worried face hovering by Moira's. "Did he know you were here?"

"I don't think so," Hailey said, shaking her head. "He –"

"She didn't see anything," Raven said bitterly. Hailey looked away.

"Well. That's that, then," Charles said.

"What?" It was the first word Alex had said in hours. He looked as if he'd just come back to reality.

"That's it," Charles said firmly. "You'll all have to go home, it's much too dangerous."

"No," Sean said, frowning behind his sunglasses. "No way, where are we supposed to go?"

Hailey felt Moira's hand on her shoulder.

"He's not going back to prison," Sean said, pointing at Alex. _Prison?_ Hailey thought. How much didn't she know about these kids?

"Darwin's dead, Charles," Raven said bluntly, "and we can't even bury him."

"Hailey," Moira murmured, "you can stay with me –"

"If he found me with you, he'd kill you," Hailey said firmly.

"Well, it's not like you'd help her," Raven muttered and Hailey felt something flare up within her, something hot and angry, and suddenly she saw Darwin, skin cracking open in a flash of white light and –

Her stomach turned.

"You could avenge him," Erik said suddenly.

"Erik, a word," Charles said sharply, steering the taller man away from the group.

"Did you find anything?" Hailey murmured to Moira, turning her back on Raven. "Anything on Shaw –"

"Only that he's even crazier than we thought," Moira said sourly. Hailey didn't even blink. "He's planning something big, Hailey, as in end-of-civilisation, him-ruling-the-world, dystopia big."

 _(we're perfect together)_

"Not surprised," Hailey said dully.

"We've taken the telepath into custody," Moira said quickly and Hailey's mouth dropped open.

" _Emma –?_ "

"Emma Frost, we have her," Moira nodded, keeping an eye on Charles and Erik. "She's currently under CIA –"

"We'll need to train," Charles called, turning back to them, and Hailey whirled towards him, her heart stopping.

But not in fear, she realized, in excitement.

"Agreed?" Charles said firmly.

They all nodded vehemently.

"But," Hank said shakily, "we can't stay here. Even if they open the department, it's not safe." He shook his head, frowning ever so slightly. "We got nowhere to go," he added, almost apologetic that he had to be the bearer of such bad news.

Hailey almost offered her old house up in Maine – a mad idea, because, of course, Shaw would look there –

Charles, however, was smiling.

"Oh, yes we do," he said.

* * *

"You don't believe me, do you?" he asked.

Hailey shot him a questioning glance, but he simply smiled at her. The look in his eyes, however, showed something far more primal.

She dropped her eyes, self-conscious but loving his attention. "About what?" she asked innocently, playing with the neckline of her dress.

"Don't play coy with me, princess," Sebastian whispered in her ear, arm around her waist clutching her ever so slightly tighter.

 _You like it when I do,_ she thought excitedly.

"Sure, I believe you," she said uncertainly as he steered her through the Hellfire Club, and his low chuckle made her skin tingle.

"You have no idea what you do to me," he murmured, letting his hand trail from her waist to her thigh –

Hailey squirmed, wildly searching the crowds of important looking men, breathing in the smells of cigar smoke and cologne. "We're in public," she whispered, her eyes wide but Sebastian merely cocked an eyebrow.

"Hailey, I own the place. If I wanted to, I could throw you on one of these tables, rip that dress off you and –" He stopped, and Hailey held her breath, wondering if she'd done something wrong…

But he merely pulled her close again, kissing her hungrily despite the onlookers. "I probably shouldn't tempt myself with where those thoughts were going," he conceded.

"I thought you liked this dress," Hailey said innocently, taking great care to press up against him.

"I like _you_ in that dress," Sebastian said agreeably, "although I can't wait 'til you take it off –"

Hailey giggled, both embarrassed and absolutely elated. She wanted to be alone with him forever, wrapped in his arms, safe, loved, wanted –

A bright light flickered at the corner of her eye, and as she turned she saw Darwin, eyes wide, skin cracking, exploding in a flash –

"Okay," Hank said, storming into her new room – or at least, walked in kind of forcefully. Hank didn't seem to be capable of storming. "Intervention, right now. Please."

Hailey snapped back to reality, sitting up on her new bed.

"Uh…" Hailey's eyebrows had risen very high. "Sure. Okay. What's the intervention?"

"Could you please come with me?" Hank asked, shrugging. Hailey slipped off her bed, following him.

"What's going on?"

"Everyone wants to talk," Hank said quietly as they walked down the hallway.

 _Everyone? As in_ Charles, Erik, Moira _everyone?_

"Well, _that's_ new," Hailey said shortly.

"Please don't be snide," Hank said, dropping his eyes.

"Whatever," Hailey said gruffly, as Hank led her down a staircase and into the lounge room.

Raven, Sean and Alex were spread out on the furniture, Raven, arms crossed, looking moody; Sean, head down, looking concerned; and Alex, eyes closed, obviously bored.

Hank cleared his throat. "Seeing as how we're going to be training together," he said with an effort, "we may as well get whatever we're thinking about out in the open. There is obviously some bad feelings, so maybe we should clear the air. Anyone who wants to start –"

"Just what _exactly_ did that Shaw guy do to you?" Raven demanded.

"Okay, Raven can start," Hank mumbled, deflated.

"I don't want to talk about it," Hailey said, gritting her teeth together.

"Why'd you have to hide from him?" Raven fired. "Why'd you leave us?"

"Dude was looking for her," Sean murmured, but Raven ignored him, still glaring fiercely at Hailey.

"Because I didn't want him to see me," Hailey said as slowly as she could. "He has eyes. He can recognize a familiar face."

"How familiar?" Raven snapped. "I thought you were looking for him, not the other way around."

"You know what? It's none of your goddamn business," Hailey said evenly, choosing to look out the window instead of at any of them because _don't think about him, don't think about him –_

"It's just a question," said a new voice, and she closed her eyes, not wanting to look, even though she knew it was just Raven.

"Please," she murmured, wishing her stomach would untangle. "Please don't do that."

She opened her eyes. On the couch next to Sean was Shaw, only he was sitting in a distinctly Raven kind of way; he was leaning forward, with his elbow propped up on his knees and his chin resting in his palm. Hailey nearly wanted to laugh out loud; she doubted Shaw would be caught _dead_ hunched forwards in his seat.

But even the sight of him doing something so obviously unlike himself… it made her feel ill. She closed her eyes again.

"Raven," Alex said quietly.

"Look at me, Hailey," goaded Shaw. "Tell us what the problem is."

"Don't," Hailey shuddered, pressing her nails into her palms.

"Raven," Alex repeated, his voice a bit louder.

"You can talk about it with us," Shaw coaxed, his voice closer, and Hailey could almost feel his fingers on her skin, running through her hair, grabbing at her hips, pulling her tight against him –

She turned to leave and suddenly his hand was on her shoulder, and it was _his_ hand, even though she knew it was only Raven. "Hailey –"

"Get _off_ ," she said and the next thing she knew his hand was gone, and when she turned around, it was Raven, yellow-eyed and blue-skinned, who had been flung across the room, who was now sprawled on the ground –

"Oh God, Raven, I'm so sor –"

They watched her cagily, as if she were a landmine just waiting to explode.

Hailey turned and fled.

* * *

"Hailey, wait up!"

She turned around to see Alex jogging down the hallway after her.

"That wasn't fair," she said hotly as he slowed to a stop in front of her. "I mean, I'm not saying what I did was right, but –"

"You're right," Alex said. "What Raven did… it was totally not cool."

Hailey froze, completely caught off guard. Was Alex – _Alex_ – actually agreeing with her?

"Oh," she said, stumped. "Okay."

"Okay."

They stared at each other.

"Sorry," he said.

Hailey blinked, confused. "For what?"

"For being a jackass ninety percent of the time," Alex shrugged. "It's nothing personal. It's how I'm hardwired."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh, okay then, that completely makes up for it."

He smiled, surprisingly. "Look, come back and talk to us. I swear it's not as bad as you think."

Hailey frowned.

"Well, I've definitely fucked up way worse," Alex added.

"Wow, you are the best at comforting, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Hailey," Alex said. "Please. We've only got each other right now."

She wished she could read minds, make sure this wasn't some game he was using her for. _Gee, thanks, Sebastian, for the trust issues you've given me. I appreciate that._

Alex held out his hand.

Hailey intended to ignore it but found her fingers entwined with his before she knew it.

* * *

No one spoke for a while after she'd finished.

Then Hank, predictably, said, "We have to tell the Professor."

"He knows," said Hailey, sinking further into the couch. She was squeezed in between Sean and Alex. Hank and Raven were sitting on the table across from them. "He's known the whole time."

"Well then, we have to do something," Hank said.

"Good job on the comforting, Bigfoot," Alex said quietly. Hailey turned to shoot him a look but Alex wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was focused firmly on the floor, his jaw clenched as if he were gritting his teeth together.

"So, you knew what he was capable of doing," Raven started out accusingly, "and you still let him –"

"I wanted to get up the second I started hiding," Hailey protested, knowing how weak and utterly lame it sounded. "I didn't know he was there _recruiting,_ I just thought he was – I thought he'd found me. But my body literally wouldn't let me stand. He – you have no idea how much he –"

"He scares you," Sean said simply. "Fair. I mean, he seems like he's capable of some messed-up shit. I can't believe Angel went with him."

"She doesn't see him the way you guys do," Hailey said unhappily. "She sees him the way _I_ saw him. When you're so set in thinking you're a freak… and someone tells you that you're perfect…" She shivered, upset that those memories where Shaw told her she should have been worshipped by the masses still made her feel warmly. "He's like a beacon for those kinds of people, and he knows it." She frowned. It had occurred to her that Angel and herself were very different in one aspect: by the time Angel had met Shaw, she'd explored a lot of her sexuality, and probably felt comfortable with it, whereas Hailey had been – and pretty much still was – a virgin.

"Jesus," Raven said dryly, "you're more messed-up than I thought."

Hailey just looked at her.

"I'm sorry," Raven said shortly. "About what I did. I was angry."

"That's okay," Hailey said. "I'm sorry I didn't…" She stopped, tried again. "If I had, Darwin…" She dropped her head, feeling the tears come to her eyes. _Darwin might still be alive._

She was surprised when she felt Alex's hand, strong and warm, on her left shoulder. Then another hand, smaller, but just as comforting, rested gently on her knee. Sean's hand found her right shoulder blade, patting her in a surprisingly awkward fashion. And finally, another hand, lightly on her head, as if worried it was doing the wrong thing.

Hailey let herself smile, unbelievably touched. "Your hand's fine where it is, Hank," she said softly.

"Not weird, the head?" Hank asked.

"Not _super_ weird," Raven said. "It could've been weirder."

"Yeah," Hailey said. "You're doing okay."

"Oh. Good," Hank said, sounding reassured.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"So, is this just going to be me learning how to chill the heck out?" Hailey asked, looking up at Charles as they sat at the kitchen table, eating a range of breakfast foods. It was just the two of them, although Hailey had a feeling Moira was hovering close by.

"No," Charles said, "this is rather about furthering your abilities, instead of fearing them."

Hailey shrugged. "I already know how to move stuff –"

"As I've seen."

"And, with the healing…" She trailed off. "Shaw tried to – teach me how to do it quicker."

Charles glanced at her curiously. Hailey had the horrible idea that he knew exactly what she was talking about without having to read her mind.

"How about we go outside?" Charles said brightly, picking up her plate and taking it to the sink. "Breath of fresh air will probably do us good, hey?"

Outside the weather was gorgeous, with not a single cloud in the sky. They wandered around the mansion, through the hedges and off into the grass. "I can't believe you grew up here," Hailey said enviously.

"Yes, I had a very hard childhood," Charles chuckled, "but enough about me. It seems that you have a very basic grasp on your abilities already."

Hailey smiled outwardly, but inside she felt a tiny twinge of annoyance. _Basic?_

"Forgive me, Hailey," Charles said, clearly catching her irritation, "for lack of a better word. If it makes you feel better, I was about to add that you're astoundingly good at what you can already do."

Hailey blushed. "I'm okay," she muttered.

"You're able to move all kinds of objects, aren't you?" Charles said. "What about people?"

Hailey stared at him, suddenly nervous. "You're not going to make me try and move _you_ , are you?" she asked, as a mental image of Charles hurtling across the grass conjured itself in her brain.

"No, no," Charles laughed. "I want to see if you can move yourself."

* * *

"I _sucked_ ," Hailey stressed, curled up on Raven's bed. "I couldn't even get one lousy inch off the ground."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Raven shrugged, lying next to her. "Alex set our uncle's war bunker on fire and Sean broke three windows. At least you didn't damage anything."

Raven's room was absolutely gorgeous, with white walls adorned with magazine cut-outs of fashion icons and photos of Charles and herself, and this luxurious cream carpet that Hailey's feet would sink two inches into.

"Did you see Hank today?" Raven asked, her tone a little too casual.

Hailey nodded. "Yeah. He said he's been busy working on something in that new lab of his."

"Oh," Raven said, sitting up. "Okay."

"Maybe you should go down there," Hailey suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

Raven scoffed. "No, I – no. He's probably busy."

"He probably wants to show someone what he's been working on," Hailey shrugged. "Go check it out. I bet he'd be happy to see you."

Raven shrugged. "I'll wait a little while." She glanced down at her t-shirt and sweatpants. "Maybe I'll change," she said, sniffing herself, "I _did_ work out in these…"

Hailey rolled off the bed, landing nimbly on her feet. "I'll leave you to it," she said, grinning. "Have fun with the scientist," she sang, opening Raven's bedroom door and sauntering out –

Right into Alex. Jeez, that boy was solid.

"Oh, hey," Hailey said brightly, trying to act like she wasn't completely winded.

Alex rubbed his jaw where Hailey had bounced off him. "Hey," he said gruffly.

"Good day? Raven said you went to town on her uncle's bunker." She blinked, wondering why she'd said that. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say –"

"It's fine." Alex nodded. "Charles was surprised."

"That's fair. I couldn't levitate for crap, if it makes you feel any better."

He shrugged.

"Alex?" Hailey asked, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Alex shrugged again, irritably, not looking at her. "Don't worry 'bout it," he muttered.

"Did I say something?" Hailey said, a little worried. _He probably thinks I'm a psycho, after all I said –_

"No," Alex said quickly, "no way. It's just… I don't like that… Shaw did what he did to you."

"Oh," Hailey said, utterly surprised. She'd been waiting for him to say something along the lines of wishing he'd done better in training. "It's, um. Thanks. But you don't have to worry about it."

Alex groaned in frustration and Hailey jumped a little as his groan turned into a laugh. Alex had a nice laugh.

 _Not that I care._

He ducked his head, looked at her through his lashes. "Y'know, you…" He shrugged again, shaking his head.

Hailey laughed. "Jesus, Alex, I almost want you to be a jackass again. Spit it out."

"You have a good smile," Alex blurted, looking pained.

Hailey felt the blush start to creep up her neck. "Oh?" she said, lamely.

"Yeah." Alex stared at the floor. "You know, like…"

"You too." Hailey cleared her throat, wishing her heart wasn't beating so fast. Her palms felt sweaty.

Alex looked up, face breaking into a cheeky grin. "Yeah?"

"Sure," Hailey said. "I mean, you'd be pretty cute if you didn't have that mouth on ya."

"Oh, a wise guy, huh?" Alex cracked, jostling his shoulder against hers. Hailey refrained from reaching up and squeezing her hand over his bicep. It certainly looked squeezable. _Don't be weird,_ she reminded herself.

"Looking for any opportunity to think about my mouth," Alex continued, still grinning.

"Oh, sure," Hailey scoffed. "I think about your mouth all the time. Think about all the ways I could make it _shut up_."

"I can think of a few ways that I wouldn't mind," Alex said, agreeably enough.

Hailey sucked in a breath, sure that her face was bright red.

Alex had blanched a little, as if realizing he'd said that out loud. "Anyway," he said, loudly, "um, catch you around."

"Okay," she said, shrugging at him. "I'm not, like, super fussed."

"No," Alex said, shaking his head as he turned away. She saw that the back of his neck was bright red. "Me neither."

"Yeah," Hailey agreed, turning to walk in the opposite direction.

 _I need to die_ , she thought helplessly.

"Hailey," Alex called and she whirled around, eyes wide, smile perhaps a little too wide to be normal.

"Yeah?"

Alex bit his lip, almost embarrassed. "I think about your mouth sometimes too."

"Gross," Hailey called back and he grinned widely.

Hailey turned and rushed down the corridor, desperate to get back to her room. She was sure that if Charles had asked her to float now, she could have.

* * *

But of course when he asked her to again, she couldn't do it.

"I don't get it," Hailey fumed after another failed attempt. She almost wanted to do something drastic, like tear a tree out from its roots just to prove to Charles that she _could_ still do something – that she still had power –

"You're telling yourself that you can't do it," Charles said, his hands in his pockets as he squinted up at the cloud covered sky. "Not to mention you're making yourself angry."

Hailey glared at the ground instead of the telepath.

"Which is fine," Charles said, grinning, "we're only human – well, kind of. Here – close your eyes, and keep both feet firmly on the ground –"

"It's not like I can do otherwise," Hailey grumbled, doing as he said and closing her eyes.

"Focus on your breathing," Charles said quietly, "but don't change it. Just focus. Do a mental check of your body, see how you're feeling."

Hailey did as he said, coming to terms with the angry knot in her stomach. Was it just the fact that she wasn't able to make herself levitate? Or was it something else?

"Listen to the sounds around you," Charles continued lowly, and Hailey heard the wind rushing through the surrounding trees, heard Charles' breathing, faintly heard the crunch of sneakers against gravel…

"Now, place your fingertips together," Charles said, and Hailey did so, the contact feeling light and supportive. The angry knot seemed to abate for a while… maybe it hadn't _just_ been anger… maybe it had been a mix of nerves, of anxiety, of…

Hailey drove it from her mind, focusing on the sounds around her again… a drop of rain touched her nose, and she wrinkled it, still keeping her eyes closed…

 _I'm allowed to be okay,_ she thought to herself, and she tipped her head back, feeling the rain that was starting to fall more consistently, listening to it, _I'm allowed to be okay…_

With a sense of euphoria, she realized her feet weren't touching the ground; she opened her eyes, her stomach jolting nervously, wondering where the stable, wonderful, hard ground had gone, but there she was, hovering nearly a foot above the wet grass, and she turned to Charles, beaming wildly –

Behind Charles, watching interestedly from the gravel path, was Alex. He waved, looking a little embarrassed, and continued on his way. Hailey's stomach gave another jolt and she let herself return to the ground, as slowly as she could.

"That's brilliant, Hailey," said Charles sincerely, smiling. "You can only get better from here."

"Thank you, Professor," Hailey said gratefully, and as the rain started to fall heavily, they left the grounds and headed indoors to have a cup of tea.

* * *

Whenever she thought she was over it, she'd have a dream about him.

It would be something simple, but far too vivid in detail, like the two of them sipping champagne of the deck of the _Caspartina_ ( _he put strawberries in mine because he called me sweet_ ) _,_ or the smell of the study ( _his cologne I used to fucking love that smell, God forbid the smell of it makes me wanna curl up and fucking die now_ ) or the way he tasted when she kissed him –

It was like her mind couldn't help it. _He killed your family, can you believe it, har-har, you shouldn't have sucked him off so many fucking times –_

His skin was always warm, maybe that correlated to the energy he absorbed, maybe but really why did it matter, why couldn't she just forget, why, why, why –

"Would you rather have x-ray vision or be able to talk to animals?" Hailey asked, looking up from her coffee and narrowing her eyes at Moira.

Moira clicked her tongue, looking up at the living room ceiling as she thought. "X-ray," she said, after a few moments of shifting thoughtfully on the couch they were currently both occupying.

"What? But you could, like, talk to dogs!"

"X-ray is useful!"

"You're so weird," Hailey teased, sending a plate of cookies from the table over to Moira, who held up her hand.

"I'm fine, really. At this rate, I'm gonna turn into a cookie."

Hailey laughed. Her stomach cramped painfully, suddenly – for a second, she thought she'd been able to smell Sebastian's cologne.

"Oh, there's one: would you rather be a giant cookie or a giant – Hailey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Then she saw it: the plate of cookies had tumbled down to the floor instead of safely sailing back to the table. "I'll clean that up," she murmured, climbing to her feet.

"I'll help," Moira said easily, standing up and following her. Then, after a second, "She's not talking to us."

It took Hailey a moment to realize Moira was talking about Emma.

"Yeah," Hailey said, wandering into the kitchen and opening all the cupboards to look for a dustpan and broom. "Why would she?"

"Maybe you could talk to her?" Moira suggested.

Hailey laughed. "She _hates_ me," she scoffed.

"Why?"

"Because Sebastian –" She stopped, heart racing. _Shaw. We call him Shaw._ "Because he left her for me," she mumbled.

Moira didn't say anything. Hailey, buried deep in a cupboard, scouring for the dustpan, couldn't see Moira's face.

"It wasn't a very good idea," Moira admitted, as if Hailey had told her so just moments before. "I just… we're at such a loss with this. I can't hide you from him if I don't know where he is."

Hailey pulled out of the cupboard, and looked up at Moira, who was staring firmly back at her.

"I never want you to have to see him again," Moira continued.

Hailey nodded, wishing the lump in her throat would go away, wishing that her eyes didn't sting. "Thank you," she said in a hoarse voice.

A nagging thought peeked out at her from under the love she felt for Moira.

 _What if Angel tells him you're here?_

 _She doesn't know where we are now,_ Hailey thought easily. _He can't find me here._

Another thought occurred to her, almost scaring her in its sureness. _If Erik doesn't kill him, I will._

* * *

"Hank and I made out last night," Raven said excitedly as they chowed down their breakfast.

Hailey nearly choked on her cereal. From the next room, Alex called out, "Jesus, I don't need to hear about you and Bozo exchanging saliva –"

"Then don't eavesdrop," Raven shouted. Alex rolled his eyes and went back to writing, or sketching, or whatever he was doing. Hailey tried not to notice how the sun was making his hair look even blonder, or how he really fitted quite nicely in the cosy-looking alcove in the living room. But for some reason her eyes kept travelling there.

It was worse, however, if she glanced over to see that he was looking back. She hastily looked back down at her cereal. Why had she picked this place at the kitchen table to sit? You could practically see everything in the living room from here.

"Jerk," Raven muttered, picking at her toast while Hailey's heart continued to race. She could hear Alex and Sean snickering in the next room.

"So it was good?" Hailey said quickly, trying not to think about what they might be laughing about ( _me, is it me? Oh, God, they probably think I'm so fucking weird_ ) –

"He's not really a good kisser," Raven said proudly, "but I like that. It's kinda sweet. I'm, like, the first girl he ever kissed."

"Right," Charles said loudly, walking into the kitchen with Hank by his side (Raven beamed). "Alex, Hailey, can you come with me?"

Hailey stared at her feet. Why was the world against her? Why?

She could feel Alex looking at her curiously – and then she wondered the question that had been blocked from her brain by the mortification of being picked with Alex: _why_ Charles was asking them both to come with him?

Nerves jangled somewhere in the direction of her abdomen, and her stomach almost twisted into a knot. _Can't be worse than a bullet to the head_

 _(even two minutes)_

 _can it? Little joke, Hailey,_

 _(stop sulking and come out)_

 _little funny, fucking joke, har-dee-har –_

She caught Alex's expression as they followed Hank and Charles, saw how unhappy he looked, almost downtrodden.

 _(I think about your mouth too sometimes)_

 _(he's trying to trick you, doesn't really like you, run away)_

"Don't look so down, you'll do fine," Hailey murmured, even though she had no idea what was going to happen, and Alex rolled his eyes.

"Gee thanks," he replied smartly, and Hailey promptly remembered that Alex was the worst.

* * *

Hailey looked around the bomb shelter, and knew she had been wrong: this was _just_ as bad as the bullets.

"You're crazy," she murmured out the side of her mouth, while Charles pretended not to hear her. They were standing on both sides of a white mannequin.

"Alex, I know you can do this," he called firmly, and Hailey suddenly wondered what would happen if she was sliced in two by a circle of energy, would she just die, would she grow into _two_ people, would she regrow her body like a starfish might, or would she have to be put back together again before –?

Alex, standing on the opposite side of the room, wearing a harness that Hank had assured Hailey would direct his power more easily, looked just as sick as Hailey felt. Of course, Hank was able to say whatever he liked: he wasn't standing in this goddamn room.

"Should I say something supportive?" Hailey muttered.

"Might be nice," Charles whispered back.

"Don't fuck this up, Alex," Hailey called.

"Not helpful," Charles said but Alex let out a weak little laugh and something in her chest fluttered. She could clearly see the sweat dripping down his forehead.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, hoping to God she wasn't about to die for forever. "You'll be okay. You got this in the bag!"

A light, almost blinding, purple-white and searing, imprinted on the back of her eyelids, and then heat, but not on her – _next to her_ –

Hailey opened her eyes and saw that the mannequin was alight. A quick glance at Charles confirmed that he too was okay.

"Well done," Charles called proudly while Alex laughed again, this time in relief. He looked at Hailey, smiling like the guy who had won the golden medal after everyone told him he couldn't, barely able to contain his glee, and she realized that Alex Summers could be kind of cute when he tried.


	11. Chapter 11

_Alex? Really?_

Hailey lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Sure, he was good-looking enough – more than enough – but when had she started seeing him as cute? He was just one of the boys, rowdy, always acted like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. His broad, sturdy shoulders.

If she was going to like anyone, she thought, rolling onto her side, it should've been Hank. Hank and Raven definitely had a thing going on, but Hank was nerdy, shy, sensitive, blusteringly adorable. She'd be crazy not to like him.

Alex was a bit of a bad boy, and was pretty crabby half of the time. He could be petty and moody. But he could be sweet. And comforting. And a bit of a dork. And funny. Nope. She certainly didn't need anything like that.

She thought of how nice it had been when he'd held her hand and taken her back to the others. Even though she'd gone with him, she'd felt as if she could have said no at any time, and Alex would have been gracious about it.

Unlike Shaw, who would have manipulated the choice out of her and then held her to it, no matter how hard she tried to pull away.

But no, Alex was the worst, and she refused to like him.

There was a knock on her door.

Hailey stared at her door and then at her clock. It was nearly midnight. Who on earth would be –?

Her door creaked open a crack, but the hallway was dark. "Hailey. You up?"

Even though it was nearly pitch black, Hailey pulled the blanket up over her chest. "Alex?"

Footsteps scuffed against the floor and the door closed. Alex flicked the light on and Hailey squealed, tugging her sheet tightly around her. "I'm not –!"

She saw Alex's eyes widen for a split second before he turned the lights off again. "Sorry."

"That's okay – it was an accident," Hailey said.

Alex cleared his throat. "You wanna go for a walk?"

Hailey swallowed. "Right now? In the dark?"

"I can't sleep."

Hailey sighed. "Okay. But I have to… put on some clothes."

"Right."

Hailey waited but there was no sound of movement. "Are you going to leave?"

"What, why? It's dark in here," Alex remarked, sounding indignant.

"Yeah and I have to turn the lights _on_ to find my clothes."

"Well, I'll turn around."

"Alex," Hailey said, staggered. "Just wait outside the door!"

"It's boring out there."

"So help me God, I will –"

The light turned on and Hailey's heart leapt, but Alex was facing the door. "Stop arguing and get your clothes. I'm a perfect gentleman, don't worry."

"And who told you that?" Hailey said contemptuously, wrapping the sheet strategically around her body as crossed the room to the numerous clothes she'd discarded on the floor.

"My mom," said Alex proudly. "When I was about three years old. You know, before I was blowing stuff up. Bit of a mess in here, isn't it?"

"You can always wait outside," Hailey said pointedly, tugging on a sweater that covered all the important places. She dropped the sheet, looking for a pair of shorts.

"Eh, my room's worse. You should see Sean's."

"Whoa, no thank you."

"You got that right. You still naked back there?"

"I wasn't, like, completely naked, okay?!"

Alex chuckled. "Can I turn around?"

Hailey tugged her shorts up and buttoned them. "A perfect gentleman would wait for the _lady_ to tell him he could turn around," she muttered, searching for her boots.

"You tryna tell me my mom lied to me?"

"Let's just say she was probably blinded by her love for you."

Alex let out a laugh that sounded particularly mirthless. "Doubt it."

Hailey straightened up, ready to go. "You can turn around," she said, not sure if her hair was worth fussing over.

Alex glanced over his shoulder at her, one eyebrow arched. He smiled. Hailey felt her stomach flutter. "Ready?"

"Not yet." Hailey pointed to her stomach. "I gotta eat. All this banter has made me hungry."

"Banter's too strong for you?" Alex queried. "Man up, MacTaggert."

Hailey smiled.

* * *

"So why the sudden one-eighty?" Hailey asked as the pair of them visually raided the fridge, searching for sustenance.

Alex smacked a loaf of bread on the counter, followed by the biggest jar of peanut butter Hailey had ever seen. "What d'you mean?"

"You know what I mean. I know I always kinda rubbed you the wrong way and now, after I tell you my sob story, you're being nice."

"You, uh, rubbed me the wrong way?" Alex smirked, a cheeky glint in his eyes.

"Don't twist my words," Hailey chided, crossing her arms.

Alex pulled out a slightly smaller jar of jam and gave her a sideways glance. "You down for a PB-and-J?"

"What the hell is a PB-and-J?"

"Peanut butter and jelly."

"By itself?"

Alex's jaw dropped in mock outrage. "Are you telling me you have never, _in your life_ , once ingested a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Sounds cultured."

"Oh, you'll be eating those words pretty soon. I make a mean PB-and-J." Alex closed the fridge, pulled out a few knives and some plates, and got to work. "Y'know, at first, you did seem kinda snotty," he admitted finally.

"What?" Hailey cried, and Alex dropped the knife. Hailey made it stop in mid-air while Alex pressed a single finger to her lips.

"We're being _quiet_ ," he said, raising his eyebrows pointedly, looking as though he was trying not to laugh. Then he turned and grabbed the knife Hailey had left hovering above the counter.

Hailey waited until he took his hand away, trying to ignore the way her lips seemed to be burning. "Snotty?" she said, quieter.

"Well, maybe that's a bit harsh. I mean, you were so uptight and you like hardly ever smiled." He shrugged at her. "It's my bad though, for having the wrong idea. I just thought you were from some amazing other life, y'know, probably best in her class at everything, only child whose parents totally dug her. I thought you were pissed that this whole being a mutant thing had ruined that for you."

"Oh," Hailey said. She swallowed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Um, sorry, for coming across that way. I probably could've been a bit nicer."

Alex frowned. "That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant."

"So you shouldn't be the one apologizing." Alex shrugged, glancing up at her to see that she was positively beaming. He grinned a little. "See? Good smile, right there."

Hailey wanted to melt into the floor. She hadn't been prepared for this, this dorky, cute boy with a nice smile. Part of her just wanted to snuggle up to him and cling to him, like a possum. The other part of her wanted to take off his shirt. And then the other part of her wanted to run away and hide, sure that it was a trap.

Alex slid a sandwich over to her. "Get ready to be amazed."

"So modest."

"Hey, when it comes to me and PB-and-J, you're in good hands."

Hailey sighed exaggeratedly, refusing to think about Alex's hands. She picked up the sandwich, took a bite, and chewed. It was good, but hardly the best thing she'd ever tasted. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, still chewing.

"Verdict?" Alex pressed.

"I'd give it a six and a half out of ten."

"Bull! That's eleven out of ten, right there!"

"All right, seven out of ten for flavour, but your execution was pretty sloppy," Hailey teased.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered.

"Oooh, Alex can't take the banter," Hailey goaded. "Man up, Summers."

He picked up her sandwich, took a huge bite, and pretended to moan in pleasure. "What are you talking about, MacTaggert?" he asked, his voice muffled because his mouth was full of sandwich. "This is _divine,_ if I do say so myself."

"Oh God, that's disgusting."

"You need to try it again," Alex insisted, mouth still full, and he held the sandwich up to her mouth.

"No, I believe you –"

"Hailey, try the sandwich," Alex stressed, grabbing her playfully around the waist and she squealed and wriggled away.

"Gah, don't do that!"

Alex's eyebrows rose as he finally swallowed. "You ticklish, MacTaggert?"

"No way!" Hailey denied vehemently. "I'm not!"

Alex dropped the sandwich, advancing towards her with his hands outstretched. "C'mere, Hailey."

"Don't!" Hailey pleaded, ducking away. Her heart was racing, but she was more excited than scared. "Please, don't!"

"What?" Alex said innocently. "I'm not gonna do anything, just come here –"

"No," Hailey wailed, trying to weave past him but he caught her, his fingers digging into her traitorous sides. She practically screamed with laughter as he pinned her between himself and the fridge.

"Alex!" Hailey wheezed, wiggling and squirming, but he had her tight against him. She buried her face against his collarbones, desperately trying to muffle the sound. "Alex, don't, I'm – I'm sorry –"

"What about the PB-and-J?" Alex's tone was merciless.

"You – _jerk_ –"

"What about the PB-and-J, Hailey?" Alex teased, now laughing along with her, but for very different reasons.

"Eleven out of ten!" Hailey choked, still writhing in her desperation to get away, but Alex had her good.

"And what about –?"

Alex stopped suddenly, and Hailey slumped against the fridge, grateful for the fact she could breathe freely once more. After a few breaths, she saw that Alex had retreated to the other side of the counter.

"What are you doing over –?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Hailey let out a little cry of surprise and Alex swore. They both glanced guiltily at Charles, who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"What are you two doing? It's past midnight and you're louder than a pair of pre-teen girls at an Elvis concert," Charles remarked.

"We couldn't sleep, so we made some sandwiches," Hailey said quickly. "We got a little carried away."

"Sorry," Alex said, looking strangely anxious.

Charles swung his gaze from Alex to Hailey. She sincerely hoped he wasn't looking inside her head, wasn't seeing just how hot and bothered she was from writhing against _Alex Summers_ , for God's sake.

She was thankful for the telepath's sudden appearance. If he hadn't shown up, she might have done something stupid, like kissed Alex.

 _Down, girl,_ she told herself. Maybe it was just lust; after all, she was used to being looked after in that department, what with Sebastian's sex drive –

Her stomach sank, trying to rid her thoughts of how his hands felt on her body, how his touch would _burn_ –

Alex had felt pretty damn good to rub up against though.

"Right," Charles said, eyes still narrowed. "Just keep it down. Other people are trying to sleep, even if you can't."

"We'll go to bed now," Hailey said hastily. She looked at Alex, but he was firmly avoiding her gaze. Hailey frowned: maybe he was annoyed at her. But surely he didn't think they could go for a walk out in the grounds _now_ , when _Charles_ had seen them? He'd think they were going off to…

Hailey cleared her throat, not moving. "Good night."

Charles gave her a wry smile, his voice floating into her thoughts. _Very subtle, Hailey._ She blushed. She wondered if Charles said something to Alex as well; his cheeks seemed a bit pink too.

"Don't stay up too late," Charles said as he turned to leave, but his sternness sounded half-hearted at best.

Hailey waited until the sound of his footsteps had disappeared before she turned to Alex, who was still on the other side of the counter. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Alex blurted. "Never better."

Hailey nodded. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

Hailey went to walk around the counter to him, but Alex moved away, making sure the counter was always between them. Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you…?"

"What's wrong?" Alex said, eyes wide. He looked positively terrified.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I'm gonna go to bed."

"Okay," Alex said casually. "I'll see you later."

"Whatever," Hailey said irritably, wondering why Alex was suddenly so afraid to touch her. She stomped upstairs to her room in the dark, fuming. What was his deal? Why'd he have to be so flirty and then so _weird?_ Were all boys like this, or was it something she did?

She'd just opened her bedroom door when her brain registered the footsteps pattering towards her, quickly and quietly.

"Who's –?"

"Hailey." It was Alex's voice, nervous, and she put her hands out so that he'd know when he reached her. Within seconds, she felt one of her hands brush his abdomen.

"Alex, what the hell is your problem?" she demanded.

"Are you looking at me?"

Hailey blinked. "I don't know, it's pitch black." She opened her bedroom door further, going to turn on the light. "Look, let me turn a light on –"

"Please don't," Alex said firmly.

Hailey put her hands on her hips, furious. "Are all boys this weird, Alex Summers, or is it just you –?"

She was cut off as her nose exploded with pain – his chin had just rammed into it.

"Ow! What's _wrong_ with you –?"

"I can't _find_ you –"

"So turn on the light, dork –"

Her words died as she felt his hand cup her cheek, felt the pad of his thumb dance across her lips, heard him whisper, "There you are," and her stomach turned to jello. She felt another pair of lips against hers: quick, chaste, sweet. Her insides were still dancing even as Alex pulled away.

"Just for future reference," she heard him say, "that's a pretty good way to shut me up."

She nodded, a little dazed. "I'll… make a note of that."

* * *

"And then what?" Raven demanded, hugging her pillow tightly to her chest as she rolled around melodramatically on Hailey's bed.

"And then nothing," Hailey said. "He ran off. I don't get it. Like one second, he wouldn't come near me, but when the lights were off…" She trailed off, worried. What if Alex didn't find her attractive enough to kiss her with the lights on?

Raven snickered. "Hailey. Come on."

Hailey stared at her. "What?"

Raven raised her eyebrows up and down a few times in a suggestive manner. Hailey smiled blankly.

"Not getting it Raven, sorry. It's barely eight a.m., my brain's not up and running yet –"

Raven groaned in mock despair. "Speaking of other things that might have gone _up_ …" She nodded encouragingly. Hailey sat down on her bed, rubbing her temples.

"Buildings, planes, the price of gas," she suggested jokingly.

"Hailey!"

"What? Why are you making this so hard?"

Raven nodded vehemently. Hailey's eyes widened as it clicked. "Oh my God. You don't think he… that he had a…?"

"I'm only _completely_ certain that's what happened," Raven snorted.

"Oh," Hailey said, her stomach jumping excitedly. "Cool." She looked at her knees, suddenly embarrassed that Raven was privy to that information. "How's Hank?"

Raven grinned evilly. "I kissed him."

"Gross," Hailey said, sticking out her tongue.

"I _like_ that he wasn't that great a kisser," Raven said indignantly. "It means he's kinda like… my _own_ , I guess… you know?"

Hailey nodded, but her mind was buzzing. Was Raven right? It would certainly explain why Alex hadn't been comfortable letting her see him below the waist.

"But now what?" Hailey demanded.

Raven raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what do we do?"

Raven stared at her, then wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"No, I mean –" Hailey growled, rolling her eyes. "What do I say to him? 'Oh hey, Alex, sorry about giving you a boner' –"

"Yeah, not that," Raven said quickly.

"Oh God," Hailey said, her eyes wide. "Why did he kiss me? Now it's going to be weird."

"What? No, it –"

"It's going to be so weird. We're screwed. I'm screwed. Maybe I can flee the country."

"It's not going to be weird!" Raven said with such a firm emphasis that Hailey believed her.

* * *

It was kind of weird.

"I don't think this is going to work," Sean announced. Hailey wished her friends could have let her spend a little more time levitating before throwing this on her.

"Sean, please stop talking," Raven said. "Hailey, it'll be fine."

"This is a bad idea," Hailey said loudly, looking out into the night sky.

"It's fine, Basket Case," Alex yelled. "Don't fuck it up."

 _And that's my romantic support. So awesome._

"I really don't think this is –"

"SEAN," said Hailey, Hank, Alex and Raven in unison.

"You know, Sean, I don't think you even _have_ twenty bucks!" Hailey bawled back from the third floor window that was Sean's bedroom. Alex had been right: it was a mess.

"Do IT, do IT, do IT," was the steady chant of three voices down below. Hank merely looked worried. Or at least, she thought he did, in the dark.

 _At least if I hurt myself, I'll be fine,_ Hailey thought, a cold calm descending upon her mind. _And if I fly, well – I'm twenty bucks the richer._

And then _why can't we just bet normal things for fucking poker?_

She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds around her, the wind, her sneakers creaking on the wooden window frame, the wild cheers of her friends –

Her friends.

She put her arms up, letting go and letting herself fall forwards, eyes still closed, breathing deep, wind tugging at her clothes and her hair, _man, if I don't fly, I'm gonna look pretty stupid when I knock myself out –_

 _But why fall when I can go forwards?_

The wind's direction changed: suddenly, her hair wasn't blowing out behind her head, it was blowing in the direction of her feet; Hailey opened her eyes, ecstatic, lifted her head up, and smacked headlong into a tree.

* * *

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" Moira demanded. Charles seemed to be thinking along the same lines: the two of them were playing the disappointed cards, while Erik, who Hailey still hadn't talked to, looked quite amused. Hailey didn't like the way he looked at her: it was as though he'd summed her up, and he wasn't very impressed.

Hailey didn't really mind that Moira was yelling at them – the five of them, standing there in the living room, looking like sad little puppies, Hailey's face and t-shirt caked in dried blood from where her nose had broken (and subsequently repaired itself). Well, she _did_ mind, but it was like she was hearing it from a radio station that was fading away as it became too far out of range…

All she could really register was that Alex, who occasionally shot her a worried glance as though worried she might faint, was holding her hand tightly, and had been doing so from the moment she regained consciousness under that stupid tree.


	12. Chapter 12

This time, in her dream, it's different.

She's leaving the Hellfire Club – _no, that's not the different part, that's familiar, that's happened before_ – and Moira is right in front of her, the distance between them stretching, because Moira has no trouble getting to the car whereas Hailey feels like there's a fishing hook – no – _bigger_ – a grappling hook lodged in the base of her stomach, where all the squirmy, nauseas feelings are, tethering her to this old life, pulling her backwards, not really ever allowing her to leave – because why leave when you're perfect together –?

Another wave of nausea. Moira's standing at the bonnet of the car, finally noticing that Hailey appears to be stuck

 _(it didn't happen like this what's wrong don't panic oh god don't panic)_

and Moira frowns. She's still in her lingerie. No one notices or cares.

"What are you doing?" she keens, gesturing frantically. "Come on!"

 _It's fine. You're going to get in the car, you're going to freak out but –_ Hailey takes a deep breath – _you're going to be away from_ him _._

And it's almost calming. Almost. But she's still hesitant and hesitation isn't going to help but something's wrong and when she looks down at herself, she's not wearing the dress Sebastian bought her but the old denim cut-offs that her mother always told her were _too short –_

Hailey looks back up and for a second the world has frozen again because there's no movement – only that's not right. There's just nobody else around – except for Moira, who's body lies crumpled in front of the car bonnet, eyes wide, empty, blood trickling out her mouth, her ears, running down from her lashes like tears…

It's a surprise to her how much she feels; seeing Moira dead brings an emotional wave of tsunami proportions. It's hard to map out what these feelings are exactlybut it is safe to say that there is pain, and it feels deep and never-ending and awfully _raw_ –

Hailey screams, so hard she feels her throat start to hurt, but it doesn't matter, and the screams are going to turn to sobs, she can tell, but it doesn't matter either, and she tumbles forward, ready to scrabble across the pavement to the woman who has done so much for her but somehow hasn't just as of yet –

There's a hand in her hair, and it tugs her back, so rough it yanks out dishwater blonde strands from her scalp –

When she looks up, he's grinning down at her.

"Go away," Hailey moans, still caught in this _pain_ , she can't process it all.

"Hailey," he chides and she can feel the tears start to escape.

"No," she wails, but it's weak, cold, "no, I – I hate you…"

"Congratulations," Shaw remarks, his eyes positively gleaming. "How long did it take for that to happen?"

Hailey closes her eyes, really letting the sobs loose. The hand in her hair tightens warningly and she stops.

"If you hate me so much, Hailey, aren't you gonna come find me?" Shaw asks, and his tone is so fucking _amused_ like it's all a joke –

" _Erik's_ going to find you," she says, her eyes still squeezed shut. "He's going to find you and kill you. I never want to see you again."

To her dull annoyance, he chuckles, lets go of her hair. "Then you don't hate me," he says, sounding satisfied.

She opens her eyes, too tired to stand, kneeling on the goddamn entrance to the Hellfire Club. "Of course I –"

"If you did, you would wanna kill me," Shaw says, and it's like a parent explaining to a child, _god what kind of twisted relationship did we have?_ "No, Hailey. You're afraid of seeing me again because _you_ think you'll do something stupid –"

"Stop it," Hailey says because her stomach has started to twist into a knot and Moira – _don't look fuck it you looked –_ Moira is still lying there and that _pain_ rolls through her again and she's crying, trying to crawl towards Moira's body, but she can't seem to get any further –

"But I'm not wrong, am I?" Amused. He's amused because she can't leave, she'll always be here, stuck with him, together forever –

"Well, I'm not coming after you!" Hailey screams, desperate to get to Moira, desperate to be empty, to feel nothing. "I'm not coming after you, and you haven't found me yet –"

"Disappointed?" Shaw kneels down to her level, and she doesn't want to look at him, doesn't want to smell his cologne, doesn't want to be near him – "Aw, is Hailey upset because I'm not trying hard enough?"

"Leave me alone," she's muttering through gritted teeth. "Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave –"

"Tell me where you are, and I'll come get you," Shaw says lightly, as if this is nothing more than a game, and _of course it is to him –_

 _You killed them!_ Hailey wants to scream but she can't form words, its too much, and her heart's beating too fast, and instead it's just sounds, just whatever sound she can make and her family have joined Moira's body, strewn across the sidewalk and Shaw's tugging her chin up to look at him and _don't touch me_ and she's stuck, stuck here forever, and the terror makes it all break and as she sits up in bed, still screaming, and everything is flying around her, swirling, rattling, breaking, chaos –

" _Hailey!"_ someone yells, but it's too far gone, too much, she can't stop –

"Charles, help her!" another voice, female, shouts, and for a second Hailey almost thinks it Moira, and the pain is halted momentarily before everything shuts out and goes black again.

* * *

Hailey jumped up as Charles walked into what Hank had established as the "infirmary" (which was really another bedroom in the mansion, considering Hailey's old one was now shot to shit) – or at least, she would've jumped up if she hadn't been lying in the bed that Hank had stuck her in. She settled for clambering into a sitting position while Hank let his Sudoku puzzle fall into his lap, shifting his weight around nervously in the armchair he'd dragged into the bedroom.

"Is everyone okay?" Hailey demanded.

"Everyone's fine," Charles amended, holding his hands up before pulling up a plastic chair that Hank had also brought. "Your room, however, and the windows on most of the third floor –"

"Where's Moira?" Hailey said, her hands clenched.

"She's _fine,_ Hailey," Charles said kindly. "She's just outside."

Hailey almost wanted to ask where Alex was, but held her tongue. She put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled, her voice hitching, the worries she had been holding in for the past twenty minutes tumbling to the surface. "I didn't mean to break anything, but if you're angry, if you want to send me away, I understand –"

 _Of course not._ His voice was in her head, firm, but warm.

"Hank," Charles said pleasantly, "thank you for staying here, but could you excuse us for a moment?"

"Uh – yeah, sure," Hank said, emerging from the armchair with some difficultly, indicating that he had been sitting there for some time; Hailey felt a surge of gratitude towards him. She had no idea how long she'd been unconscious for, and had little to no idea what was going on, but was far too worried to be making any kind of angry accusation.

 _Just because he waited here with you doesn't mean he's not afraid of you,_ said a snarky little voice in the back of her head, and Hailey closed her eyes tightly. Would it be like before, when Raven and the others had avoided her like the plague? Only now it wasn't because she was a coward, it was because she was a – _ha-ha, so fucking funny –_ a head case?

But she thought she saw him shoot her a quick tiny smile over his shoulder.

Hank left quickly and quietly, shutting the door behind him with a satisfying _click._

Charles didn't move to the armchair, like Hailey thought he might. He stayed in his chair, eyes locked on hers.

"Hailey, you will never be thrown out of here because of an accident," Charles said resolutely. "Nor will I ever be upset with you because you can't control your powers. It's not your fault."

Hailey laughed without a trace of humour. "Would it have happened if I hadn't been here? I think that makes it my fault," she said bluntly.

An interruption arrived in the shape of Moira, who burst in through the door, sharply telling Hank that she could damn well see Hailey whenever she wanted to.

Hailey felt her whole body go limp with relief, felt fresh tears start to pool: finally, with her own eyes, she could confirm that Moira was all right. She forced the tears away, smiled wryly as Moira hastily settled into the armchair that Hank had recently occupied, gently clutching Hailey's hand.

"What happened?" Moira asked, brown eyes wide and worried. "Are you okay?"

"I broke my room," Hailey supplied, unwilling to talk about her dream. "I'm fine."

Moira, perhaps sensing that Hailey wasn't giving the full truth, looked to Charles, who sighed. _They already know,_ Hailey thought sourly, although it wasn't so surprising: anytime she went crazy and broke something, the root of it was –

"Sebastian Shaw," Charles said. "I'm assuming you had a nightmare."

"Get him out of my head," Hailey said suddenly. "You can do that, right? Erase things?"

"If I thought it would help you," Charles said uneasily, looking down at his lap.

"It's not just me it's helping," Hailey spluttered. "What I did – what I can do – how long before it's not just windows and furniture I'm breaking?" Her stomach knotted at the thought of Raven, or Moira, or Alex –

"No, I won't do it, Hailey," Charles said firmly.

"Charles," Moira said, almost pleadingly.

"So that's it?" Hailey said flatly.

"What was the dream about?" Charles asked.

"It didn't feel like a dream," Hailey said, squeezing Moira's hand inadvertently. "Well – I mean, it was – but he – he didn't…" She cleared her throat. "He was asking me where I was."

Charles frowned. "The real Shaw couldn't be able to contact you like that," he said, thankfully answering her unspoken question. "His telepath isn't with him anymore."

"Yeah, but couldn't he have just gotten a new one?" Hailey asked, willing someone to say the answer she wanted to hear.

But instead they all sat in silence.

* * *

It was a muggy late afternoon when Charles had said she should get more rest, but Hailey, feeling she'd had enough of that for a while, had decided to find each of her friends and apologize to them individually for any damage she might have caused.

Wandering into the gym where she thought she might find Raven, she found Erik, idly lifting the weights into mid air. He turned as Hailey opened the door, surveying her with a fairly disinterested look. Hailey didn't care; she didn't need to be friends with Erik. He just needed to kill Shaw, and they'd be fine.

"Sorry, looking for someone else," she grunted, going to shut the door.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Erik said, cocking an eyebrow. "This morning."

Hailey frowned. "Yeah. Sorry. I didn't –"

"Don't be apologetic for your power," Erik said, and though his tone was casual, his gaze was very intense. _Does he ever blink?_ "It's amazing, what you can do, the strength you have."

Hailey said nothing, merely stared at him. Something in her softened ever so slightly towards him until she remembered another person who had told her such things.

"Charles told me you spent time with him too," Erik said, and there was a tightness that lurked around his jaw, a sudden tension that settled in his body, like a panther ready to spring.

"Do you promise to kill him?" Hailey said suddenly.

Erik smiled. It was a fairly warm smile, not one she would have expected from him. "With every ounce of my being."

Hailey nodded. "Good. I just needed to hear you say it."

* * *

Sean, Raven and Hank had all looked very surprised when Hailey had apologized to them, claiming that it had been no big deal and that they were glad she was all right. Hailey had been so grateful that she had flung her arms around each and every one of them; Sean had clapped her on the back and told her to stop being lame, Raven had hugged her back just as tightly after a moment of surprise, and Hank had stood there, stiff as a board, mumbling about how it was "no big deal" and that he was "glad you're okay".

She'd been saving Alex until last. She couldn't quite convince herself that he didn't want to see her. _You showed him too much crazy,_ she thought to herself and found herself trying not to laugh as she walked alone in the hallways. _Jesus, if he knew the half of it –_

"Hailey?"

She turned, surprised to hear his voice – Alex was standing outside one of the spare bedrooms, and – her heart leapt in worry – he had two Band-Aids on his head, and a bandage on his hand.

"I've been looking all over for you," Alex said, smiling bemusedly as he walked towards her. "Are you all –?"

"What happened?" Hailey demanded, running up to him, holding his bandaged hand in hers and looking pointedly at the Band-Aids on his forehead and cheek.

"Nothing," Alex shrugged, not looking at her. "I was training and –"

"Alex," Hailey said shortly, crossing her arms.

He sighed. "It's nothing. It doesn't even hurt, I just got clipped a few times in your room this morning –"

"But Charles said everyone was okay!" Hailey said, aghast.

"And I _am_ okay," Alex said, chuckling as he found her hands with his. They were warm, Hailey thought as they enveloped hers, and calloused. "I was just being a numbskull and trying to get to you to wake you up, calm you down. I didn't even think about the Professor –"

"I'm so sorry," Hailey said vehemently.

"Hey," Alex said, finally seeming to understand how upset she was and pulling her into a hug. "Hey, it's fine. Really. Besides, I'm a tough guy, I can take it."

It felt very nice being hugged by Alex, Hailey thought objectively as they stood in the hallway, alone. She felt warm, and safe, and her stomach kept jumping around, and Alex smelled good up close like this. She could feel the muscles of his chest and abdomen through his t-shirt, and felt something inside her shiver.

"What hit you?" Hailey asked quietly, thanking God that he hadn't lost an eye or something.

"Just some glass," Alex replied. "Not a big deal. It's you I'm worried about."

"Because I'm crazy?" Hailey mumbled.

"Oh, I knew that, Basket Case," Alex scoffed and Hailey let out a short, quick laugh. "But whatever you were dreaming about… it didn't look like fun."

"How did you know something was wrong with me?" Hailey asked, burying her face in his shirt.

"My window started cracking," Alex said, amiably enough. Hailey screwed up her face, glad he couldn't see her. "So I went to go check on you. You seemed pretty… well, y'know, so I got the Professor and then it –"

"Escalated," Hailey said thickly, pulling back from the hug. "It wasn't anything. Just a stupid nightmare."

Alex's face grew taut. "It was him, wasn't it?"

Hailey shrugged, but he growled. "I swear to God, next time we see this guy, I'm ripping his damn head off –"

"You are not!" Hailey cried, alarmed. "He'd kill you!"

"Wow, your faith in me is overwhelming," Alex said dryly.

"Alex, I'm serious," Hailey stressed, seizing hold of his arms in her impatience. "He can't be killed – I don't even know how we could hurt him! I'm really hoping Erik knows something that I don't, because I don't think he – I don't know how to stop him."

It took her a second to realize that she had grabbed on to his biceps and how firm they felt beneath her hands. She took her hands away, feeling the blush creep onto her face when something changed in Alex's eyes.

"Sorry," Hailey muttered, sure her face was bright red. "I –"

But what she was going to say was rudely cut off when Alex put his hands on her waist, literally _picked her up_ – her stomach went wild, her heart beating faster – placed her against the wall, and kissed her with an astonishing amount of fervour.

Her nerves felt like they were on fire, and she placed her hands on the back of his neck, eagerly pressing him closer. Alex didn't like to use a lot of tongue, and she found she actually enjoyed that more – instead, he would drag his teeth across her lower lip, and it made her feel like lightning was shooting up and down her spine.

"Trust me," Alex breathed, pulling away for a second. "You can grab me wherever you want."

Hailey, her insides dancing happily, resisted the urge to cup the bulge in his sweatpants and squeeze lightly, wanting to see the way his eyes would half close in pleasure, how his lips would part and she wanted to bite his lower lip, his neck, his collarbones –

"Oh!" said a female voice. "Sorry, I –"

Alex and Hailey whipped their heads towards Raven with surprising speed: it might have looked quite comical, Hailey supposed, if Raven hadn't been so embarrassed.

"I'm just – sorry, I'm looking for Charles," Raven said, looking firmly at the ceiling. "Have you –?"

"Yeah," Alex said, not moving away from the wall, effectively trapping Hailey there. "He's with Moira, I think. Downstairs," he added, letting one of his hands resting on her waist travel lower, and Hailey cleared her throat.

Raven frowned. "Moira?"

Alex nodded, clearly eager for her to leave.

"Oh." Raven left without so much as another word, swiftly turning on her heel and heading back down the staircase.

Hailey frowned. "Is she okay?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't think her and Moira have been getting along too well," he muttered.

Hailey raised her eyebrows. "Really? That's so weird."

Alex nodded. "So… are we going to keep talking about this or can I go back to kissing you?" he asked uncertainly.

"Wow, Romeo, I didn't know you could be so romantic," Hailey scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I can be romantic," Alex grinned, letting go of her waist and ducking ever so slightly –

Hailey squealed as Alex lifted her up, bridal style. "Alex, I'm heavy, put me down!"

"You weigh, like, two pounds," Alex chuckled, as Hailey looped her arms around his neck.

"Put me down, you're going to drop me –"

"I'm not going to drop – _whoa_!" Alex pretended to lose his grip and Hailey yelped, starting to laugh. " _Alex_!"

"That was a close one," Alex said, starting to walk down the staircase. "Phew."

"Oh, my God, I hate you," Hailey groaned, sure they were both going to fall because Alex was too busy being annoying to watch his step.

" _When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore,_ " Alex began to sing in a loud, very grand, ever so slightly off-key voice and Hailey started laughing, throwing her head back.

"See, isn't this romantic?" Alex asked, as they reached the bottom of the staircase and he began to carry her to the kitchen. Hailey heard Sean start whooping from the living room.

"Put me down!"

"A true gentleman only puts a lady down when he's seated her at the dinner table and starts making her food."

"If it's PB-and-J again, I'm going to kick you. Romantically."

"Don't make me sing again," Alex warned.

"That was _singing_?"

"Don't make me angry-kiss you. I'll do it, I'm warning you."

Hailey laughed, her stomach swooping.


	13. Chapter 13

Hailey had no idea how he did it.

Alex barely had to touch her – God, it could be as simple as his hand resting lightly on her lower back, like it was right now – and her nerve endings became a hotbed of activity. Her stomach would swoop and her spine would tingle. What if one day she simply snapped? He would be opening a door, letting her pass through first, accidentally brush her shoulder and, bam, she would just let loose, climb on top of him, and –

But she couldn't think like that. Sean and Hank were in here with them. They couldn't do anything like that… not that Alex had tried to do anything like that… which was really starting to annoy her, now that she thought about it…

Not to mention the only other person that she'd done anything remotely sexual with was a complete and utter crazy-head. She really wanted that to change.

 _Tell me where you are, and I'll come get you._

Hailey tried not to shudder, feeling her mood sink lower and lower.

But no. No, they were all going to sit here, and watch the evening news, like normal people.

She couldn't help trying to see him out of the corner of her eye, see his shape, commit it to memory.

He was a good guy.

" _Like I said, I'm a wonderful guy," Alex had told her, chucking a pillow at her head._

 _Hailey had laughed, sending the pillow right back with a twitch of her fingers. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she'd said, attempting a serious tone and expression._

" _Hey, I've been in a really serious accident," Alex had whined, pointing at his Band-Aids before jumping onto her bed._

" _Aw, tough guy," Hailey had teased, crawling up next to him._

" _I have a sensitive side," Alex had pouted._

" _Whoa, you really are wonderful," she'd said, eyes wide with mocking amazement and Alex lifted his head, bumping her forehead lightly with his._

" _Told ya so," he'd said proudly._

" _So why were you in prison, Mister Wonderful?" she'd queried._

 _He'd shrugged easily enough but something in his eyes looked uneasy. "Can't hurt people when you're alone."_

"When do the cartoons come on?" asked Sean.

"Cartoons?" Hank asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah, they're fun," Sean shrugged, opening another bag of chips. _How is he not fat?_ "Loud, fast, not boring. Literally the opposite of what we're watching."

Alex smirked.

"Cartoons," Hank repeated, looking positively offended.

"Forget it," Sean said, rolling his eyes.

"Jeez, Bozo, you got any fun in you at all?" Alex queried and Hank frowned. Hailey sent a cushion flying off the sofa to smack Alex in the face.

Sean laughed and accidentally inhaled some chips, coughing hard. He'd had another good day, practicing flying in that suit Hank had designed for him. Just like Alex had, using tools Hank had created to help them direct their powers.

And here they were, picking on him.

Alex turned to Hailey, expression a mixture between a scowl and surprise. "What the hell was that for?"

"Stop being an asshole," Hailey said flatly. This had nothing to do with how she felt about Shaw. Absolutely nothing.

"Oooh," Sean taunted, finally clearing his throat. "Alex, your girlfriend's mad."

"Shut up before my girlfriend kicks your ass," Alex snapped. Hailey blushed.

"And the last time I checked, you're the only one here _without_ a girlfriend," Hank said firmly, cocking an eyebrow at Sean.

Hailey raised her eyebrows, trying to hide her smile while Alex snickered. Sean, who was too good-natured to take it seriously, laughed again. "True, true," he amended, holding up his hand for a high five. Hank, after a second of looking blank, high fived the redhead.

"But I'm changing to cartoons," Sean said, grabbing the remote and flicking through channels.

"So, I'm your girlfriend?" Hailey whispered, her words hidden by the argument Sean and Hank were having about the level of the TV volume.

"Yeah," Alex muttered, moving his hand out from the small of her back. "When you're not throwing cushions at me, yeah." When Hailey didn't say anything, he shrugged, looking away. "But like, whatever."

Hailey snuggled in closer to him and he draped his arm around her shoulders. "Well, I'm very lucky to have such a sweet, sexy boyfriend," she whispered into his ear, letting her teeth lightly graze his earlobe. Alex jumped ever so slightly, his fingers pressing harder into her skin and Hailey pulled back, shrugging. "But like, whatever."

Alex, his cheeks a little pink as he glanced at Sean and Hank, gave a smile tinged with just the slightest of bashfulness. It did absolutely nothing to help Hailey, who had to refrain from dragging him onto the floor and kissing him fervently, never mind the onlookers.

* * *

She'd settled for maybe ambushing him in the kitchen. She wanted to fuss over him, stroke his hair, kiss the little cuts and bruises away. He'd taken his Band-Aids off this morning, despite Hailey's protestations.

"Dude," Alex said, swiping the crumbs away from his mouth, "stop looking sad. You're eating PB-and-J on _toasted bread,_ I don't know how you're not having the best time right now –"

"Your cooking abilities have really got some range, haven't they?" Hailey teased but the lack of sleep was starting to screw her over. But how _could_ she sleep? Not when she could hurt people – not when Sebastian ( _if it really is Sebastian_ ) could see her –

"You're so mean to me, Basket Case," Alex said forlornly.

"Only cause you're _just_ as mean back, Fireworks," Hailey giggled.

"Well," Alex said, his eyes darting away from hers, "can't get much more perfect for each other, can we?"

Hailey froze. Alex didn't notice, slapping more peanut butter on his toast.

"You wanna take a walk?" Hailey asked, pushing her toasted delicacy away. She wasn't hungry.

"I'm not finished," Alex protested as Hailey grabbed his plate.

"Takeaway meal, they do it in all the fancy places," Hailey said, picking up his other slice of toast and tangling her fingers in his.

* * *

Cold night air. It was good, brisk, just what she needed.

"Rain or sunshine?"

"Uh… sunshine. You ever been to Florida?"

"Nope."

"It's gorgeous… Listening to music or playing music?"

"I can't play anything… can you?"

"Piano. Not well. I can play 'You Are My Sunshine'. Oh, yeah, I'm really good at singing though." Hailey cleared her throat, breaking out into a quavering operatic imitation. " _You are my suuunshiiine, my only sunshine, you make me happyyyyyy when skies are –"_

Alex laughed, his head tipping back ever so slightly. Hailey watched as he did so, hoping she didn't look too hungry. It was nice out here, walking through the wet grass, further and further from the mansion.

"Do you… um…?" Alex cleared his throat. "Do you miss him?" His voice sounded calm enough, but the way he heatedly shoved his hands into his jacket pockets caught Hailey's eye.

"No," Hailey said, feeling her insides twist.

"If he came back, would you go with him?" Alex asked.

Hailey, caught by surprise, crossed her arms. "No," she said irritably. "Never. Is that what you think?"

"No," Alex said quickly, like he was sorry he said anything. "I just – God, I would kick that guy in the face if I could –"

"Alex," Hailey said, squeezing his hand. "I know. I know I've got a lot of issues when it comes to… that. But I'm not going anywhere."

Alex stared at her. Hailey wasn't sure if he believed her, but she knew it was true. Right now, she just wanted to be where he was.

Then Alex cleared his throat, tipping his head ever so slightly to crack his neck. "Man, Xavier's got some land," he said, checking back over his shoulder to see how far away they were.

"If you could go anywhere, where would you go?" she asked.

"Disneyland," Alex said and Hailey raised her eyebrows. "Disneyland?"

"Happiest place on Earth, right?" Alex queried and Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Seriously."

"Honolulu."

" _Alex._ "

"No, I'm serious, Honolulu." He paused. "I was born there."

"You were born in Hawaii?"

"Yeah, I – I can kinda remember what it was like… we moved around a lot…" He was quiet. "I don't know, I – I was really happy there."

Hailey turned so that she was facing him. She let her fingers lightly trace his cheekbones, and placed a quick kiss on his nose. "Let's go."

Alex smiled. "Honolulu?"

"Heck yeah, Fireworks. Let's go right now."

His hand, larger, callused, came up to envelope hers. "Right now?"

"Well, maybe not right now," Hailey said, and his eyes were so blue, so clear, he was so close, so warm… "But when we can."

"It's a date," Alex whispered, kissing her fingers. Her heart was pumping, her toes curling, he was – he was just –

 _Don't like him, Hailey. Don't do this to yourself._

She kissed him, feeling her stomach jump as she did so. Her and Alex had kissed only a handful of times in the last few days, and something definitely had to be done about that.

Her hand went to the back of his neck, pulling him closer as she let her teeth gently graze his lower lip. For a heart-stopping moment, he did nothing –

Then she heard the noise that he made – it was barely noticeable, an eager whimper he made at the back of his throat – and her heart lurched and then his hand was resting on the back of her neck, the other entwining his fingers with hers and her stomach started jumping with excitement again, so she let her hands roam under the fabric of his t-shirt, tugging him closer, wanting to rub up against him until he –

Alex pulled back, his nose wrinkling. "It's raining –"

Hailey blinked, finally noticing the light shower that had begun to fall. "It's not that bad," she said hopefully. Something inside her was going to crack open whether she liked it or not – the pit of her stomach ached in a wonderful way, and despite the fact that Alex still looked concerned about the weather, his hands were on her now, down the small of her back, lower –

Hailey let her fingers curl in his hair, tugging his head back so that she could access his throat better – she heard his sharp intake of breath as she did so, and pulled back, letting her grip loosen. "Alex, is this okay?"

"Yeah – yeah, no, keep doing –"

She did, lightly pressing her teeth into where his neck met his right shoulder, her fingers nimbly searching under his shirt until she found what she wanted, rolling a peaked bud between her fingertips. He drew another shaky breath in and she tugged at his hair again, harder this time, and Alex promptly took over, kissing her heatedly, his hand clutching at her hips and pulling her flush against him.

Hailey didn't really know who suggested they lie down – it was probably her – but the wet grass wasn't unpleasant, and there was no mud. Not that any of that mattered. All that mattered was that they were both still fully clothed.

Alex straddled her, sucking at the base of her throat, and Hailey moaned as he rolled his hips against hers in a steady rhythm, _still too many fucking clothes,_ and as she tugged at his shirt she saw and felt his belt buckle unbuckle itself and slip out of his belt loops, flying off somewhere unimportant, because Alex was the only thing that was important, God she wanted to see what he looked like when he came –

He pulled back for a second, laughing a little. "Did you – uh –?"

"Yeah –" Hailey blinked, suddenly embarrassed by her neediness. "Sorry – was it too much or –?"

"No," Alex shook his head, still smiling that little shy smile. "No, I – it was really kinda hot, actually –"

Hailey laughed, feeling as if she was rising with all the glee she felt. Alex chuckled along with her, pausing to suck at her collarbones, to open another button on her blouse, to kiss the skin there…

It was a giggly clumsy struggle, tugging clothes off, finding new terrain, easy, nothing to it. Not having to worry that he'd bite a little too hard, that his grip would leave bruises. Nothing to worry about at all.

 _Except how much I like him._

Except how much it might hurt?

She let her hand travel down between them, squeezed at the bulge tenting his underwear, and he swore, his hips jerking against her. "Dammit, Hailey, you do that again and so help me God…"

But Hailey kept her hand there, rubbing against him, feeling him twitch and harden even more.

She squeezed again. Alex moaned and she pushed, manoeuvring them so that she was on top, and she left a trail of kisses down his hard muscles of his stomach, almost happy to go down on him, wanting to hear him at the height of pleasure –

"Hailey." She looked up, and Alex was raising himself up onto his elbows. The way he was smiling at her made her knees go horribly weak, made her heart beat too fast. _Dammit, you idiot, Hailey._ "C'mere," he said and she did, straddling his lap as he sat up and God, wouldn't it be funny if someone from the house came out and saw them, but they were far enough away, it should be fine –

"What's wrong?" he asked, and she tugged her panties to the side, not sure how it would –

"No," Alex said kindly, gently still her hands with his, "Hailey, what – am I doing something wrong?"

Hailey stared at him, starting to smile. She could feel tears running down her face, wasn't sure when she'd started crying. "No," she said honestly. "You're perfect."

Alex blinked. He leaned forward to kiss her again, softly, and she wondered if he could taste saltwater on her lips. One of his hands travelled to cup her between her thighs, two fingers lightly tracing her lips, and she bit back a moan.

"Where?" he asked, and Hailey told him, his fingers making quick work of the spot as he teased her, eliciting sounds from her lips that she knew she'd be embarrassed about later. After that, it wasn't even a question for her – she wanted him inside her, to fill her –

He was smaller than Sebastian – not that she minded in the slightest, because frankly she wouldn't have cared if Alex had a goddamn toothpick down there – but he was definitely big enough, and it hurt a little at first, but then she could feel him, moving slowly at first but then faster, his fingers drawing her closer and closer to orgasm as they rubbed at her in a circular motion, and she moved her hips in time with his, feeling something coil inside her, nearly – oh Jesus nearly –

Hailey swore, breathing his name, saying it over and over again like a prayer as she tightened around him, and Alex, his voice cracking, swore as he, too, was overcome.

* * *

It had stopped raining. Hailey lay on the grass and looked at the patches of black through the clouds, the dots and glimmers of silver. She held Alex's hand maybe a little too tightly.

"You okay?" Alex asked. He was still smiling, the remnants of a grin playing around his lips.

"Mm-hmm." Fantastic. They needed to do this more often.

Alex chuckled, leaning over and pressing his lips lightly against hers. "We should probably find our clothes."

"I want to stay here forever," Hailey said dreamily, her eyelids feeling heavy.

"Nah, you'll get sick," Alex pressed. "It's getting cold."

Hailey grudgingly agreed that Alex was right; the temperature was dropping, and someone – probably Moira – might get worried if Hailey had been gone for too long.

She watched as Alex tugged his jeans back on, smirked as he bent over to look for her shorts, her stomach leaping excitedly as the muscles on his back worked and moved. Then she hurriedly looked for her bra, suddenly worried that she needed to cover back up, that Alex might not find her as attractive as she found him –

"Oh shit," Alex said, after a minute.

"What?" Hailey asked, slipping back into her shorts.

"Can you see your shirt?"

Hailey felt the blood drain from her face. "What?" she asked, scurrying up next to him to help him search. "It's gotta be here."

"I don't see it," Alex said heavily.

Hailey shrank at the thought of walking back into the mansion without a shirt – "Ohhh God, okay, that's fine, I'll just –"

Alex chuckled again, handing her his black t-shirt. "Wear mine. It's okay."

"Aw no, Alex – what about you –?"

Alex shook his head. "Hailey, put it on. No one's gonna care seeing me without my shirt."

Well, that probably wasn't true, Hailey thought as she pulled his t-shirt over her head. Alex had a very nice upper body. It was probably a crime not to be attracted to him.

They trudged back to the mansion, sneaking furtive glances and looking away whenever they met each other's eyes, almost shy, far too giggly. It was nice.

Inside, it seemed far too bright. Hailey had to blink a couple of times, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light.

There was a thump upstairs. She jumped, glancing at Alex, who looked wary.

"Probably just Sean dropping something," he said.

"Yeah," Hailey said.

Without really talking about it, they both walked upstairs, perhaps a little more tensely than usual. _We're being stupid,_ Hailey thought. "It's nothing, right?" she said.

"Totally," Alex replied, but still they walked to where the sound had come from. Nothing seemed wrong. There were no signs of a fight.

Until another crashing sound startled them, coming from a room that Hailey had never been in before – Erik's room. The door was closed, and she could hear lowered voices –

Alex, perhaps rashly, opened the door, bursting in and Hailey followed him, her mouth dry as the unthinkable occurred to her, _don't be stupid, don't be stupid, don't be right –_

Her stomach lurched violently. Erik was lying on the floor, a trickle of blood leaking from his mouth, either unconscious or dead. Charles was climbing to his knees, one of his eyes turning an ugly, purple-yellow colour – _the wall, someone threw him into the wall, oh God he –_

And then there were the other three people standing in the room with them. Angel, standing in the corner, her eyes on the floor; Janus, who was probably responsible for throwing Charles into the fucking wall, and –

"Hailey," Sebastian said, smiling as easily as though they were merely having a pleasant dinner party. He stepped over Erik's unmoving body, his blue eyes only on her, filled with mirth over the secret joke they were sharing. "Long time, no see. How are you, beautiful?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

She was frozen. Was she even breathing? This had to be a dream, surely. A nightmare. Things like this didn't happen in real life.

 _Of course it's real oh God he's here he's really here –_

She waited for what felt like a lifetime. Waited to disappear, to wake up.

Hailey wanted to turn back to Alex, to ask for help, but she couldn't because, as far as she was concerned, she didn't want Alex to even _exist_ on Sebastian's radar –

Except she could see Sebastian looking over her shoulder, see the curiosity in his eyes, watched as it mingled with suspicion and, ultimately, jealousy. This was the way she'd looked at Emma and – now that she thought about it – the way Emma had looked at her.

She was wearing his goddamn shirt. He was half-naked. Oh God, oh God, oh –

"Hailey," Sebastian said again, only his tone was different now, far from welcoming. It was sterner but – she was going to be sick – mockingly so. "Who's this?"

It was a miracle the room wasn't exploding.

She felt a hand wrap around her wrist, and Alex was pulling her out of the room, murmuring _let's go,_ and then they were running down the hallway, and she felt thankful, disgustingly thankful, that at least he'd had to pull her from the room. Later, if Sebastian asked, she could say that she hadn't wanted to leave.

She stopped and retched, horrified at how she was thinking. _I'm not going with him._

What choice did she have? Who was going to stop him? Erik was

( _dead_ )

unconscious, Charles – Charles was a mess, and _oh God Moira, where's Moira –_

"Hailey, come on!" Alex's voice sounded hoarse with panic, and that was what made her stumble along after him down the stairs, his hand still tightly clasped over her wrist.

"Moira," Hailey said through numb lips, "we need to get to Moira –"

She felt something in the air change, as though it had become charged and dangerous; she shoved Alex away from her and he yelped, clattering down the stairs as she fell on her ass, her tailbone smarting, as Azazel appeared, a twisting red blur between them, snatching at someone who was no longer there –

" _Don't take him!"_ Hailey screeched and a grandfather clock came flying out of nowhere, zooming straight at the teleporter – and splintering against the staircase as he disappeared.

" _Jesus_ , Hailey!" Alex cried as she staggered over the remains, tumbling down to meet him. What did Sebastian want?

Her – she knew that. But he probably also wanted to hurt her. The question was – did he want to hurt Alex as well?

With a sinking feeling, she had a shrewd idea that Sebastian would probably hurt Alex either way –

The pair of them hobbled into the kitchen – something had happened to Alex's ankle when she'd pushed him, and the fear bubbled up in her throat like bile – when somebody ran into them.

"It's me!" Raven gasped. There was a cut on her temple. "It's me –"

"Where are the others?" Hailey demanded. "Where's Moira?"

"That red _thing_ , he –"

There was a _crack_ , an acrid smell – and Alex's hand wasn't gripping hers anymore.

Hailey whipped around, heart pounding, desperately searching for him, as though he was just hiding, as if he would pop up at any moment.

She wanted to scream his name _but if I do, and Sebastian hears me, Alex is worse off, oh God, I can't do this –_

Her mind and her body, however, were at two separate ends. Even as she was thinking, _I can't, oh God, I can't do this,_ her legs were pushing her towards the stairs, ready to run up and get Alex, even as Raven yelled after her.

She was halfway up the staircase when Angel flew into her, slamming them both through the bannister and against a wall. They slid to the floor in a tangled heap.

Hailey heard Raven scream, felt her ribs pop back into place. She struggled to rise to her feet, ready to fight off whatever was making Raven scream, when Angel clambered on top of her, digging a hand roughly into her hair and yanking hard enough to pull it out –

"He won't like that you've hurt me," Hailey spat, and she could taste copper in her mouth.

Angel shrugged. "It's not like he'll see the damage."

 _If she spits on me, I will make her brains exit out the top of her skull._

She heard another cry, this one far away, but full of pain. _Alex, Moira, Raven?_

Angel heard it too, fear briefly creeping over her face.

"Is it just like you imagined, Angel?" Hailey goaded, her body shaking with _rage_ , she found, not fear. _How DARE you do this to us? Bring him to us? Let him hurt us?_ "Does he tell you that you're perfect together?"

She saw the answer in the other girl's hesitation, and it gave her an oddly triumphant pleasure.

"Too bad. I guess that was just with me," Hailey said, grinning with a spiteful joy that bordered on hysteria. She felt her lip split with the effort, felt it immediately reseal itself; until Angel backhanded her with enough force to make her dizzy.

Anger. That's all it was. A snap, a break, a simple flash of hatred. But the result felt like a shockwave. Angel went flying, smashing through the staircase again, landing high up near the ceiling and Hailey sat up, one hand raised, fingers gripping the air as if it were a throat, and Angel stayed up there, gagging, struggling, eyes wide as everything that wasn't stuck down began to rise –

" _You can keep him,_ " Hailey breathed, but the sound seemed to travel, almost thunderous as she rose, and the wind was whipping through her hair, the colour of it pledging a tie to a sister she'd only had for a short time, _Moira – Alex –_

Hailey let Angel go, ignoring her. The wind died; she landed on her feet as a bookcase, two vases and the remains of the grandfather clock hit the ground. Raven, holding onto a banister, took a shaky step as her legs found the floor again.

"Jesus," Raven muttered and Hailey wrapped an arm around her waist, moving them up the staircase.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah –"

"Change into Angel."

Raven did so. Hailey tightened her arm around the new shape.

"The others?"

"Where's Charles?"

Hailey's stomach somersaulted. "Upstairs. We'll get him. When we get in that room with Shaw, treat me like I am dirt –"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Go back."

" _With him?"_

"It's the only way," Hailey said impatiently. "Now, when we –"

Hailey didn't get to finish her sentence. She didn't see the hit coming. Raven cracked her fist into Hailey's temple, and the next thing she knew, she was staggering into an empty bedroom, one hand clasped to her forehead, while her reflection closed the door.

* * *

She only needed a few minutes to lose the muzzy feeling that Raven had brought on, but that was time that she didn't have. As if it could have gotten any worse – Raven was now running around, looking like _her._ Didn't she have _any_ idea what Sebastian would do to her?

Panic was bleeding into her veins. _He has Alex. He maybe has Moira. He maybe has Raven. Charles. All of them. Jesus, fuck, this is all my fault. How did he find me?_

She opened the door, unable to walk straight. She half crawled to Erik's room, taking decades, maybe centuries to reach it, an eon with her heart in her mouth, finally twisting the knob –

The room was empty, save Erik's – _breathing –_ body, and Charles, curled up in the corner, his eyes unfocused.

"Charles," Hailey whimpered, crawling towards him, "Charles, are you –?"

He coughed. _I'm still here,_ he told her, but his voice seemed quieter.

"I'm sorry," Hailey whispered, clutching at his hands. She felt the tears start to spill over. She didn't want to leave. "Charles, I am so sorry." She pressed her forehead against his knuckles. "Where did they go? Can you find them?"

Charles swallowed. _The helmet – I can't get to him –_

"I don't need you to get to him. I just need to know where he is."

He gave her a sideways look, one that she could read without his voice in her head. _Don't you dare go back with him, Hailey._ Then, helplessly, _Oh, fuck, I can't get up._

"Just stay here. Is Moira okay?" Hailey said, her eyes darting to Erik. She wondered if she should shake him awake.

Charles nodded. She nodded back, squeezed his hand. Then his eyes went desperately wide, and he struggled on the ground like some kind of fish out of water. Worried he was having a fit, Hailey grabbed at something to put under his head, but he croaked, " _Raven – with him –_ "

Another _crack_ and a hand fisted in the material of her shirt, pulling her away from him, and she cried out, but her voice was lost in the white noise, and even though she shut her eyes, she could still see the pale, inhumane faces, the mouths open so wide that their skin had started to tear –

* * *

When she hit the floor, it was hardwood. She scrambled to her feet, but Azazel was already gone. She stood frozen, waiting for him to come back.

It was dark in the house. She sneezed. Dusty too. Maybe they hadn't been here for a long time.

Azazel was by her side in a second, gripping her hand before –

They were upstairs, in Sebastian's room. Hailey shook her head, already beginning to cry.

"You take this," Azazel said urgently, handing her a small white tablet. "Take it. It make you not care."

"Azazel, please, take me back," Hailey urged, grabbing at his jacket. "Please, please God, take me away, I have to make sure they're okay –"

 _I'm all the way in fucking Miami, how am I meant to help Alex or Moira or Raven –_

Azazel shook his head, pushing her away.

"You don't have to stay here either! Come with me, we – Charles, he can –"

He held out his hand. "Take. You take, _now_."

Hailey clenched her hands into fists. "Take. Me. Home."

"This _is_ home!" Azazel shoved her, surprisingly rough. Her knees hit the back of the bed, and she tumbled onto it. "You think he just let you leave?"

"I can't just leave my friends!" Hailey shouted, but wiping her nose on the hem of her shirt. Alex's shirt. _Oh Jesus he's back there –_

"Am not your friend?" Azazel snarled and spat at her feet.

She stared at him, his fury becoming clear. Betrayed. That's how he felt. But surely he'd still feel compassion –?

"Help me," Hailey whispered, trying to look as small and as weak as possible. "Please."

Something in his expression softened. He held out the pill again. "Please take."

She looked at it, unsure. _It make you not care._

"Take, and I'll take you back." His voice was calm, stoic with grim resignation. "Then you see."

Hailey didn't think about it; she plucked the pill from his fingers and tried to dry swallow it. She gagged. Azazel disappeared for a moment, then reappeared holding a glass of water, lifting it to her mouth.

She swallowed, grasping his hands. "Take me back now."

* * *

Azazel tossed her into the grass, and it was still wet from the rain.

Hailey righted herself as quickly as she could, her surroundings coming into focus.

They were out the front of the mansion, right where Hailey had practiced her levitation with Charles. Azazel was behind her. Angel was probably still inside. Sean, Hank, Moira – they must have been inside too. Janus was dragging a limp Raven back towards the house – and there was Sebastian, less than twelve feet away, his back turned to her. He was crouching next to a figure on all fours, a figure who was making a sound between sobbing and dry-heaving –

Hailey struggled to her feet but a pair of hands set themselves on her shoulders, pushing her back down into the slippery grass.

"The more you care, the more he'll hurt him," Azazel said stonily, holding her down.

Hailey watched, her mouth dry, as Alex's body was wracked with seizure-like spasms – she could hear Sebastian talking, hear the soothing tone he was using, and she felt like she was going to scream. _Do this for Alex,_ she thought. _You can stay calm for Alex –_

She heard Alex scream and she leapt to her feet, throwing Azazel away with a twist of her hand. Then she was running, back to the person she'd hoped she would never see again.

"Stop it!" she hissed, sliding to a halt not even half a metre from him.

"What's the magic word?" he chided.

"I'll go with you," she blurted.

Shaw slowly stood up, barely glancing at her. One of his hands was tangled tightly in Alex's hair, jerking the younger man up onto his knees. Hailey's heart felt like it was being dragged from her chest. Blood ran from his nose, his mouth, his ears; he was gasping for breath.

"Hailey," he managed, "don't –"

"Shhh," Sebastian said, and Alex's body seized, his teeth gritting together, more blood spurting from his nose, and it had to be something passing between them, some kind of energy charge Shaw was giving him, probably destroying everything in Alex's body –

"Sebastian, stop it, Jesus, please stop it," Hailey whined, letting the tears fall down her face. He didn't like it when she cried, usually did anything he could to stop it.

But he looked at her as if she was a stranger, and for a few moments she felt that dull pain of being left out, being left behind.

"Please, I said I'd go with you –"

He let go of Alex quite quickly, his hand reaching out and seizing her throat, lifting her into the air as if she weighed no more than a loaf of bread.

"I really don't appreciate how you're saying that," Sebastian reprimanded. "Because it sounds like you're only doing this to help _him._ Not me."

"Sebastian," Hailey gasped, trying to shake her head, "I can't _breathe –_ "

Light was crackling behind Sebastian – purple-hot light, sizzling and bright –

"I _loved_ you, Hailey, I gave you _everything_ you ever wanted and this is how you repay –"

He stopped, rolling his eyes and dropping her to the ground before turning back to Alex, who was desperately trying to conjure enough energy to throw at him.

"By all means, try this again," Sebastian said cheerfully. "I'm sure it'll work this time."

"Kill you," Alex managed.

Sebastian chuckled. "How?" he asked, interested.

Even though his hand had left her throat, Hailey still couldn't breathe. She sat in the grass, gasping and spluttering, before climbing into a standing position, desperately gripping onto Sebastian. Every part of her body felt shaky and weak. She felt powerless.

 _Hailey._ Charles' voice rang in her head, unwelcome. _She's with me – Moira's fine and with me –_

 _Good,_ she thought, trying to be thankful that Moira was okay but nothing was okay, and there was nothing to be thankful for. _Keep her there._ She swallowed. _Miami._

"Please," she begged, tugging at Shaw, bringing his attention back to her. "Please, I'll go with you, I'll do anything you want, it'll be exactly like it was, please Sebastian, please, I'm so, so sorry, I –" Her breath hitched, and then she was really crying. Crying like a stupid little kid who couldn't get what they wanted.

The energy attempting to swirl around Alex's body sputtered and died, but Sebastian didn't notice. He was looking at her in a way that was all too familiar; he was disappointed, but he was waiting for her to make it up to him.

Hailey gently tugged on him again, one hand wrapped in the material of his jacket, and the other on the back of his neck. He had to bend down to kiss her, and she wanted to bite his tongue, rip it out from his mouth, but instead she thought of Alex, and how he might be dying on the grass below them.

Sebastian kissed her with a fervour that would've once made her knees weak. She could feel him smirking against her lips, felt one of his hands squeeze her ass, and she winced, knowing it was purely for Alex that he was even doing this –

But when he pulled back, he looked content, and she felt calmed by this. He was even smiling at her.

"I missed you," he murmured.

"Please don't kill him," she whispered, and his smile disappeared.

 _Wrong thing to say,_ Hailey thought dully.

"Sure," Sebastian said, pulling back from her. "Azazel."

Hailey felt sick, but at least they were leaving. Alex would be okay. He would be okay. Everything was starting to feel more okay –

Only Sebastian was stepping away from her, even as Azazel linked his hand in hers. Hailey looked at him questioningly.

"What – Sebastian, where are you –?"

"Take her home," Shaw said, smiling pleasantly enough at the pair of them. Alex moaned on the ground.

"But –" Hailey shook her head, suddenly feeling sluggish. The words stumbled on her tongue. "You said you wouldn't –"

"And I won't," Shaw shrugged. He knelt down next to Alex, grasping the boy's jaw in his long fingered hand. Alex grunted, futilely trying to pull away. "But I think we could still have some fun."

* * *

As Azazel helped her onto the bed, she was still processing it.

"No," she said after a moment.

"I told you to not care about the boy," Azazel whispered.

"He lied," Hailey said simply, lying back on the pillows, her limbs heavy. She suddenly felt very comfortable. "He lied again." But it didn't bother her that much. Her problems felt quite far away, practically surreal.

The room became brighter; Azazel was flicking on the lamps.

"Is Alex okay?" Hailey asked, swallowing thickly.

"Stop talking about him," Azazel snapped. "You making it worse."

Hailey did as he said, distracted by the patterns the lamps had cast upon the ceiling. Alex couldn't die. He just couldn't. That wasn't allowed. That single thought swam in and out of the haziness.

"What did you give me?" she asked, but Azazel wasn't in the room anymore.

* * *

She tried to lift the lamp, but it wouldn't budge. She tried breaking the windows, tried to concentrate on levitating, but nothing was working. She couldn't focus on it long enough.

She wasn't tired; not at all.

 _Alex is okay, he's okay, he's okay –_

Any minute Shaw would be walking through that bedroom door.

 _Alex is okay, he's okay, he's okay –_

And she'd have to have a very good excuse prepared. She shut her eyes, her lids feeling pleasantly heavy. It must have been a while. She felt less hazy, but she was still having trouble with her telekinesis.

 _Sit up. Come on, Hailey, sit up._

Why was this taking so long? She almost wanted Shaw to come back, because if he wasn't here then he was still with Alex –

Panic broke through the haze and she sat bolt upright, pulling her knees up to her chest. This was happening. This was real and it was happening and if she didn't figure out something right now –

The door opened and Shaw walked in. Her stomach sank; he looked younger than he had the last time she'd seen him.

He glanced her way, and raised his eyebrows at her cold expression. He whistled. "I don't think I've seen you this angry since you –"

"You killed them," she said bluntly.

Sebastian cocked his head, shutting the door. The lock clicked. "Trust me, I wanted to send Lover Boy into whatever Great Beyond awaits him, but I did as you asked. Which reminds me," he added, his tone abruptly hardening, "I think you should be thanking me rather than –"

"Gabby," Hailey said flatly and his face went blank. "Violet. My mom. My dad."

"I told you," Shaw said doggedly, "he wasn't your –"

"You _told me_ they were okay," Hailey said firmly. She watched in disbelief as he merely rolled his eyes, taking off his jacket and dropping it to the floor. "You self-righteous little prick, don't you _dare –_ "

"You know what your precious little family did before I watched them die?" Shaw cut across her, his eyes cold, his mouth drawn into a thin line. "Begged."

"God damn it," Hailey whispered, her lip trembling, wishing that she could send something, _anything_ , hurtling across the room and into his skull.

"Begged me to kill you and not them," Shaw continued, watching her carefully as he removed his belt. He was keeping his distance, however. "I'm starting to think I should have, with all the hell you've put me through."

"I swear to God," Hailey said through gritted teeth, clutching tightly at her knees, "the second I find someway to kill you, I'll –"

"You ungrateful little whore," Shaw said coolly. "How long did you make _him_ wait before you fucked him? Thirty seconds?"

"How long did it take you to fuck Angel?" Hailey retorted, surprised to hear the words leave her mouth. "Fifteen seconds?"

He'd crossed from the door to the bed in two strides; Hailey thought he was going to choke her again, when he simply sat on the side of the bed with an easy kind of grace, and let his fingers brush against her arm.

Agony ripped through her, making every nerve-ending feel as though it had been hit by a tank; she screamed and twisted away from him, feeling herself regenerate even as he climbed on top of her, holding her wrists down and pinning her struggling body beneath him.

"Now _that_ ," Shaw said cheerfully over her whimpers, "is only a _fraction_ of what Lover Boy had in him. You sure know how to pick 'em, sweetie."

"Stop –" Hailey begged before she felt the pain scour through her _again_ , and she screamed before she could stop herself. She sobbed, tried to wrench her arms away but he was heavier than she was.

"Don't struggle or I'll do it again," Shaw said, pleasantly enough. "And I don't want to do again, Hailey. Please don't make me."

Hailey squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to cry.

"Now, I think," Shaw was saying slowly, "that what you did – you know, leaving me to think that you had been kidnapped or raped or, really, any number of fucking horrible things – wasn't very nice. I think you should apologize."

 _Really?_ Hailey thought dully, blinking blearily up at him. _Am I really being asked to apologize by the guy who murdered my family?_

Another shock rampaged through her body and she bucked, desperately trying to get away from that horrible, horrible pain. " _Oh God oh God_ I'm sorry!"

"Little more sincerity, if you don't mind," Shaw said apologetically and she nearly went crazy, actually felt her sanity _try_ to accommodate the fact that here she was, trapped and under him, and she actually had to _apologize –_

"I'm sorry, Sebastian," Hailey said before he could hurt her again. She felt the tears pool in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Shaw hesitated, looking into her eyes as if searching for confirmation that she was, in fact, sorry. After a second, he let go of her wrists, sitting back on her hips and running a hand disinterestedly through her hair.

"The old colour was better," he said dismissively, rolling off her and walking swiftly to the en-suite bathroom.


End file.
